Out of Sync
by Steph-Schell
Summary: AU. Ashley is supposed to be dead but she's not. Only her father knows the truth. With her window of getting back to the real world shrinking with every day that passes, she has to either learn to trust a man she barely knows or risk fading away for good.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **This story is based on the fact that I'm in total denial of Ashley dying. And because I thought the writers should have explored the relationship between John and Ashley more.

Beta'd by the wonderful Cowboy1

**Disclaimer: **I so don't own it. If I did, Ashley would be alive and well.

* * *

"I can not _believe _this is happening." John looked up at the distinctly feminine sounding voice. He had come to the top of the south end of the Sanctuary to be alone with his thoughts. No one came up here. Helen and her protégé liked the roof of the north tower, Tesla preferred to be down in the SHU, Mr. Foss enjoyed being surrounded by his computers. They each had their own little spaces for thinking but this was never one of them. "This sucks, this sucks, this sucks, _this sucks!_"

Not only was the voice feminine but it sounded like his dead daughter. Clearly he had been alone with his thoughts for too long. He was hearing the voice of one long dead as he had the few days after James had died. He turned the voice and actually _saw _Ashley pacing there. "By god a true apparition," he murmured.

The girl whipped around to stare at him. "You can see me?" she demanded.

"I can," he agreed. "And hear you as well. But I wonder why if you are a ghost you come to me. I would always think that you would see Helen first. She needs the reassurance more so than I."

"Dude I am not a ghost," she told him.

"Then I am hallucinating." John gave her a self deprecating smile. "It does not surprise me. Losing two very dear people would cause anyone to lose their sanity. And I have always had very little control on my madness." He sat down and looked at her. "I must say, this is the gentlest madness I have ever experienced. I almost prefer it to reality."

Ashley resisted the urge to clamp her hands over her ears. "You're not hallucinating either," she snapped. She folded her arms and looked away. "Wish I was," she grumbled.

"You can not be real," he denied quietly. "I watched you die."

With a huff Ashley sat down in front of him. "I'm real," she insisted in the same tone. "I'm not entirely sure how but I am."

John gave her a bemused smile. "Let's pretend for a moment that I believe you," he decided. Ashley snorted at his tone. "Explain to me how you ended up in this…state," he gestured.

"I think it happened when I tried to teleport," she sighed. "Something went really wrong. I ended up like this." She ran a hand through her hair. "I've tried to talk to Mom, Will, Henry, even Tesla. So far you're the only that has responded at all, in any way." She looked away again. "Not really sure how I feel about that."

John studied her for a few moments. "I suppose there's no way to test whether or not you're real," he commented. "After all if you're a hallucination, you'll already know the answers to the questions I could ask."

Ashley shrugged. "Ask anyway," she said. "You never know. I might surprise you." The ghost of a smile crossed her face.

"You've already surprised me," John told her. "And not just by showing up here."

Ashley shifted, uncomfortable with the turn the conversation had taken. "Anyway, I know I'm not a ghost at least. I've walked out of the Sanctuary a couple of times, not very far mind you but far enough. As for a hallucination…well, that's your choice really. So can we get back on topic? As in how to fix this?"

It was John's turn to shrug now. "I have no idea how you got into this state. It would be impossible for me to try and get you out of it."

Ashley wanted to try other options but before she could say anything her mother walked out. "John, there you are," she greeted. The smile she gave seemed hollow. Ashley moved so she didn't have to look at it. "I have been looking all over for you. What are you doing up here?"

John flicked a glance at Ashley who shook her head. "Without proof we'll just make her upset," she pointed out.

"I was merely thinking," John assured her. "I wanted to be alone for a bit." He reached out to take her hands in his own. Ashley made a gagging sound from behind her mother. John kept his eyes on Helen. "I didn't mean to worry you," he said softly.

Helen was fighting a blush. "It's alright," she told him. "I just prefer to keep everyone sight these days. After James and…" She looked away for a moment before turning back with a fake smile. "It helps my nerves," she explained, then laughed. "Overprotective feminine instincts I suppose."

John gave her a reassuring smile. "It is perfectly understandable," he told her. "It is not easy to lose people we love. I should have told you where I was going. I promise I will do better in the future."

Helen ducked her head. "You shouldn't have to tell me every detail," she murmured.

"I want to," he insisted. "If only to keep you from worrying."

Ashley couldn't hold it in any longer. "Could you not?" she whined. "It's a little gross." She turned back to the Sanctuary. "Can't believe I have to put with this."

Helen gave his hands a squeeze. "I merely wanted to tell you that dinner should be ready shortly, even if most of us have no appetite." John smiled at her remark and Helen returned it. "You should come and at least try to eat. We'll be no threat to anyone if we're all dropping from hunger."

"I shall be in soon," he told her. "I just want a few more minutes."

Helen nodded. "I'll be waiting," she said softly. With a small yet honest smile, she headed back inside.

John turned to his daughter. "You really must work on your manners," he informed her.

"I thought you believed I was a hallucination," she snapped.

"I'm not sure what to believe," he admitted.

Ashley rolled her eyes. "You need to get back inside," she told him. "Mom likes to worry too much. Even if she shouldn't."

John regarded her quietly for a moment. "Would you like me to stay longer?" he asked. "I wouldn't want you to be lonely."

Ashley let out a hollow laugh. "I haven't had any real contact with anyone since before the Cabal," she pointed out. "I'll survive a few more hours." With a bow, her father disappeared in a flash leaving the girl alone with her empty thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

Even after nearly two months John was still not used to waking up in the Sanctuary. He kept expecting to find himself back wandering on the streets. But slowly as the dawn crept through his window he would awaken in a comfortable bed in a warm room. As he slowly came awake this morning he got another surprise. There was something blocking the sun from coming in all the way. When he opened his eyes fully he saw his daughter sitting on the windowsill. "Morning sunshine," she greeted.

"Ashley what in the seven hells are you doing in here?" he demanded.

"Keep your voice down," she snapped. "Do you want someone to hear you? Remember you're the only one that can see or hear me. You'll look even crazier than before if mom thinks you're talking to yourself."

"You still haven't answered my question," he growled.

Ashley shrugged uncomfortably. "I was bored," she said. She looked around for something to deflect the attention off her self. She noticed that her father at the very least slept shirtless. "Please tell me you're not naked under there," she gestured. "Because I'm not sure I could handle that image."

John glowered at her. "If you didn't want to know you shouldn't have snuck into my room before I was awake," he pointed out.

"Excuse me? This is my mom's house and therefore _her _room. And as her daughter I can go anywhere I want."

"Aren't we confrontational this morning," John commented. Ashley stuck her tongue out at him. "And filled with childishness too apparently. How did your mother cope while raising you?"

"You're great company you know that," she retorted. "I don't know how I got along with out you."

John was about to give her a scathing reply when he caught a flash of emotion in her eyes. His entire demeanor softened. "You were lonely," he stated quietly. "I'm sorry. I would have stayed if you asked."

Ashley jerked backwards as though he had slapped her. "I wasn't lonely," she denied. "And even if I was, why come to your room?"

"You've just answered that one yourself," he pointed out, "I'm the only one that can interact with you." Ashley just looked away. "Did you sleep much?" he wondered.

"No," she said. John looked at her curiously. "Not because I was having problems," she denied quickly. "Because I just don't. It's like my body doesn't need it or something."

"Very interesting," he murmured. Ashley gave a bored shrug. "If you would turn around so I could get out of bed," he requested.

"Great," she sighed, "You do sleep naked. Now I have that image in my head."

John gave her a gentle smile. "Actually I sleep in boxers," he corrected. "But that's not important. Turn around, please." Ashley moved to face the window. John continued talking to her as he gathered up his clothes for the day. "I need to shower," he told her, "But it shouldn't take more than a minute. I'll be back as soon as I'm done. Breakfast won't be done by that time so we shall talk more then." He paused as a thought struck him. "Do you get hungry at all?" he asked.

Ashley continued facing the window. "Sometimes," she said. "Sometimes not. It's hard to explain it. Even when I feel hungry I can't always get to the food that I want. It'll just slip through my grasp. Not that it matters, the feeling usually goes away after a while."

"I'm sorry," John told her. Ashley just tossed her head and didn't respond. John put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. He was pleased to note that she stiffened but didn't pull away. "I'll be back after my shower," he told her quietly. Ashley nodded.

When John came back from his quick shower, Ashley was no longer sitting on the windowsill. In fact she was not in the room at all. He shrugged it off as wanting to visit the others in the house. Even if they couldn't see her perhaps she could find some comfort in knowing they were alright. He was buttoning up his shirt when her voice came from behind him. "God, I hate it when that happens," she sighed.

He turned to see her resting against the door. "Where have you been?" he wondered idly.

"Climbing back up here from the SHU," she informed him. He gave her a quizzical look. "Apparently gravity is a universal constant," she said, "But I'm not."

"I'm afraid you're going to have to explain yourself some more," he told her.

Ashley got the uncomfortable look that John was fast becoming familiar with. "Sometimes it's like I'm not totally in touch with reality," she explained. "I sort of…flicker in and out. Like I'm shifting between almost being back and disappearing all together. When I shift to out then I can pass through solid objects, and not always at will. I usually end up falling through the floor until I hit the earth directly or until I come back in touch. Then I can touch things and I can walk back up steps."

"Is there any consistency to this dysfunction?" John asked her.

Ashley shook her head. "It's completely random. It doesn't happen that often though so that's a relief. I mean usually I just kinda float evenly between the two extremes. I have to move things to get around but no one can see or hear me." She gave an awkward shrug. "You get used to it after awhile."

"I'm sorry," he said again. It sounded pathetic even to him but he could think of no better words.

"Like I said, I'm used to it," she replied. She pushed off the door and went to sit back on the windowsill. She tucked her legs under her as she stared at him.

John sat down on the bed. "How long have you been stuck in this state?" he asked. "Since we saw you die?"

"A little less than that, I think," Ashley told him. "It's hard to keep track sometimes. There's a space of time that I'm not really sure I remember so I think I was like blacked out or something. I'm not sure." She pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "What did it look like? When I died, I mean."

John thought back. "You remember fighting us I suppose?" Ashley nodded at that one. "You're mother was so upset," he said quietly. "She didn't want to use that weapon on you."

"I remember that too," Ashley agreed. Hearing her mother admitting to fear had been so hard.

"Well, Henry finally got the EM shield working, if you don't remember. Your mother was pleading for you not to kill anymore. Kate Freelander shot you. So one of your...clones came in to finish the job."

"Yeah, and then I went to stop her," Ashley nodded. "Do you think teleporting with the EM field on is what caused all this?"

"There's really no way to be sure what caused your state," John told her. "Which makes it that much harder to reverse the process." He studied her for a few moments. "May I ask a rather personal question?"

Ashley raised an eyebrow. "You mean this entire conversation hasn't been innately personal?"

He had to smile at her cheek. "I suppose that's a reasonable point," he agreed. "But this is even more personal."

"Go ahead and ask," Ashley shrugged.

John had trouble knowing exactly where to start. "When the Cabal had you," he began, "you were…different. Angrier. More…"

"Like you used to be?" Ashley provided.

The self deprecating smile was back. "Exactly," he agreed. "But you are not like that now. If I had to guess I'd say you were back to your normal behavior. May I ask why that is?"

Ashley looked away. "I don't know," she admitted. "When I first woke up I was angry again but after time it just became so exhausting. And I couldn't remember what I was angry about. Eventually I just realized there was no point to it anymore. So I started to rein in the temper. The fact that I wasn't being drugged constantly probably helped."

"So they were drugging you," John nodded.

Ashley whipped to him with a glare. John had to admit she looked a lot more like him at these moments. "Did you think I would willing go against my own _mother_?"

"Of course not," John soothed. "At least not at first." Ashley's glare deepened. "We thought, perhaps, that once your anger was unleashed, you might have been more willing than normal."

"Well, I wasn't," she snapped. "And I'm insulted that any of you would think that of me."

"My apologies. I didn't mean to upset you."

Ashley was about to reply when she cocked her head to listen. "Time to cut it short. Will's coming."

John couldn't answer because there was a knock at his door. "It's open," he called.

William Zimmerman poked his head around the door. "Magnus sent me up," he said, "She wanted to see why you weren't at breakfast yet."

"Is it that time already?" John asked not turning from Ashley. She had a smug sort of smirk on her face. "Tell Helen that I shall be right down. I did not realize the time." He glanced to the door. "There's no need to wait on my account," he said. "I'll be there shortly."

Will shifted a little nervously. "Alright," he agreed. "See you down there."

John waited until he could no longer hear William's footsteps. Then he looked at his daughter. "Aren't we the perceptive young thing," he murmured with pride. "How did you know it would be William that came up here and not some other Abnormal? There are many that your mother could use for such a task."

"The hallways echo pretty well," Ashley told him. "And Will has a distinctive tread."

John smiled at her observation. "Very true," he agreed. "I don't suppose you want to sit around whilst all of us are eating and not paying attention to you."

Ashley nodded. "Not really my thing," she told him. "But I could walk you down if you want."

John saw through the tactic for what it really was. His little girl really was very lonely. "I'd like that very much," he smiled. "Come along then."

Ashley hopped off the windowsill and they walked side by side down to the dining room. Neither one felt the need to talk much on the way, besides there were too many eyes that would tell Magnus that John was talking to air. They stopped right outside the doorway. "I'll see you in the library after you're done," Ashley told him quietly.

John watched her walk away for a moment before going in to join the others. "John," Helen greeted with a smile. "I was wondering what took you so long."

"My apologies," he told her as he took a seat in between her and Nikola. "I'm afraid I lost track of time. Thank you for sending William or I would have never left my room. I didn't mean hold everything up."

"Took the long way down, I see," Tesla remarked.

John looked at him coolly. "There is no law against walking last I heard," he pointed out.

"Of course there isn't," Helen said to diffuse the situation. "It's simply a bit out of character for you, that's all."

John thought of his daughter and the reasonable silence between them as they walked side by side. "I prefer to take the slow path sometimes," he said. "It helps with my thoughts."

Nikola opened his mouth but Helen shot him a glare. "Good for you John," she said. "We all need time to sort out our thoughts." She signaled to the kitchen staff. "Now let's all eat and we can discuss more later."


	3. Chapter 3

John left for the library as soon as it was polite to do so. He didn't want his daughter to be feeling lonely again. He found her patiently waiting deep in the stacks. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long," he told her.

Ashley brushed the comment away. "I was fine," she deflected. She slid off the table she had been sitting on. "I figured the library was the best place to start looking for something."

"A good idea," John agreed. He surveyed the nearly endless stacks "But unfortunately your mother has quite the library. And where this would normally be a help to us it is now a hindrance."

"I did my part," she shrugged. "Your turn now."

"And where do you suggest I begin?" John asked trying to temper his frustration.

"Hey, I tried all right, not my fault," she sniped. "Besides we have an entire library here. There has to be something that can bring me back."

"No doubt there is," John growled, "but we have no idea what happened to you which means no idea where to start. We could spend years looking through this bloody library. And we might not find anything even then. You could at least try to be more helpful."

"Oh don't start that," Ashley snapped. "It's your genes that got me into this mess."

"It's your own damn stupidity that got you into this mess," John stated.

"Like you never made a few mistakes?"

"Mistakes are when you miss your landing!" he yelled. "Mistakes are when you trip as you start to jump! This is just plain incompetence!" John watched as she recoiled from his temper and instantly felt his heart break. It wasn't the girl's fault that things had gone so wrong. "Ashley, I'm so sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have raised my voice. Please…forgive me. I just want to help, honest."

Ashley had tears in her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She folded her arms and looked away. "It doesn't matter," she said softly.

"It does to me," he insisted. "I was wrong, Ashley, and I am so very sorry."

"I forgive you," she whispered. A part of her wanted to hang on to her hurt but that wouldn't do anyone any good. He was the only one that could help her and she needed him to be on her side. Besides, she couldn't hold it entirely against him. After all, she got her temper from him.

"Thank you," he said sincerely. "I promise to keep a better control on my temper from here on out. I know it's not your fault. I'm just very frustrated right now."

"I understand," she shrugged. "It's no big deal." She took a few deep breaths before turning back to him. "We should probably start over there. It's reference books and stuff."

"Knowing your mother there's more than just the average encyclopedia," John agreed. He turned to the direction his daughter had gestured to.

"I was," she called after him. John turned to look at her. "Lonely, I mean," she explained. "I was used to not having anyone notice me, but then you did. You saw me and you heard me. It was…nice to interact with someone again. And when you went away all I had were my thoughts and I got really lonely. So I went to your room to watch you sleep. This is going to sound really weird but it actually made me feel more connected with the world."

John's hands twitched with the need to comfort his daughter. His first thought was to hug her but he was willing to bet that she wouldn't appreciate such a gesture. Instead he reached out as before and grasped her shoulder tightly. He felt a tingle of electricity where they touched. "You are connected to this world, Ashley," he told her. "And soon we shall find a way to bring you back to this world. Then I believe you shall be a lot less lonely."

Ashley stiffened at the touch but she finally gave in and relaxed. The hand on her shoulder was comforting and that was something she really needed right now. "Thank you," she said. She took a deep breath and casually slid out of his grasp. "Good thing there are no cameras around," she joked.

"Indeed," John smiled. "Now let's go look through some of these books together."

They sat together at one of the tables with a stack of books to each of them. Ashley had read so many words her eyes were starting to blur. "This is impossible," she declared shutting the book. "There's just too many things it could be."

"This is quite the conundrum," John agreed. "So many places to look and so few answers to find. If only we could narrow down the search, even just to a specific set of reference books."

Ashley stared at him. "Do you honestly think I spend that much time in here?" she pointed out. "All this brain stuff is way beyond me."

"Yes, well, I was never much of the brain either," John agreed. "That was Watson's specialty as you might imagine."

"Actually that might be it," Ashley said.

"I'm not following."

"Well we both know that we'd rather attack first, send flowers later right?" Her father nodded. "But we also know that there were people way smarter than us. So why don't we start with them rather than running like rats in a maze?"

"A good idea," John allowed. "But which one would we start with?"

"Did Uncle James keep a journal by any chance?" Ashley wondered.

"He did," John told her, "but I'm not sure if it would help us much." Ashley slumped in defeat. "But…"

"But what?"

"James wasn't much of an inventor," John started. "However he did like to improve on the things of the past. His favorite was DaVinci as a matter of fact."

"That's a start," Ashley said brightly. "Mom has an entire shelf on him."

John smiled at her. "And would you know where this shelf is?" Now Ashley looked apologetic. "Never mind," he sighed. "I'll ask someone who does know."

"Will would probably be your best bet."

"And why is that?"

"Because he spends almost more time in here than mom and he's too terrified of you to ask any questions."

John had to agree with that assessment. "Very well then, I shall have to go and find your mother's newest protégé. Where would he usually be at this hour?"

Ashley tilted her head as she thought. "Hmm, unless his schedule's changed then he's probably in his office. I don't know if he has any patients right now but I do know he won't be talking with mom until later in the afternoon."

"And his office is where?"

"That's right you've never been there," Ashley remembered. John nodded. "Not for lack of evidence," she added under her breath. John gave her a pointed look. "Right, sorry. It's up on the fourth floor. Take the hallway down to mom's door then keep going around the corner and count six doors on your right. That'll be the one you want."

"Do you want to come with me?" John offered.

"As I said at breakfast not really my thing."

"Alright," John agreed. "You wait right here then. I'll be back before you have time to be lonely again."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "I wasn't that lonely," she called after him. John just smiled as he disappeared.

He reappeared on the fourth floor. He found his way to Helen's door and continued walking until he turned the corner. "Sixth door on the right," he murmured. "One…two…three…four…five…and six." He rapped sharply on the door and was told he could enter. "Doctor Zimmerman," he greeted. "I require a bit of help."

He watched the good doctor's eyes widen just a tad as he realized who was asking assistance. "Did you come for therapy?" he asked with trepidation.

"While I'm sure your psychiatry skills are abundant, I'm not in the habit of unburdening myself to a total stranger," John assured him. Will just nodded. "I'm looking for a book actually, by DaVinci. I was told Helen had quite the collection and since I can't find her I thought I'd ask you. I imagine you spend a good deal of your time there reading up on your patients and such."

"Yeah I do," he agreed. "But why are you looking for DaVinci?"

"Personal reasons," John stated.

Will shifted uncomfortably. "Right, none of my business," he said. "Anyway you go in the library, walk to about midway and count down four rows. The shelf on your right will start the Da Vinci section."

"Thank you," John smiled and disappeared. He went back to his daughter. "I've got the section," he told her.

"Did you have to sort through the stutters?" Ashley wondered with a smirk.

"The young man was a bit nervous," John allowed. "But he did as asked." Ashley raised an eyebrow at his smirk. "He offered me his services."

Ashley snickered. "Did you take them?"

John gave her a look of mild amusement. "Come along," he said. "We need to look at the books."

"Lead the way," she gestured. John cocked his head in a signal for her to follow. He led her back to the entrance of the library then began to go through the young doctor's instructions. Soon enough he found himself staring at stacks of books both about and by Leonardo DaVinci.

"I never realized it was this big," Ashley said.

"When was the last time you spent any real length of time in here?" John murmured.

"I think I was like ten," she informed him. John looked at her for a moment. "What?" Ashley demanded. She really didn't do well with undivided attention.

"You really are my daughter," he stated.

"Wait, the anger issues and teleporting didn't clue you in?" she snarked.

"Temper," John murmured, "temper. Now let's see, where should we begin?"


	4. Chapter 4

The sun was nearly at its high point when Ashley stumbled on something that might finally help them at least understand what was going on, if not cure it. She had just opened her mouth when a girl she didn't recognize walked in. She had dark skin complimented by black hair and eyes. If Ashley guessed her looks would be best summed up by exotic. This girl looked to be about her age and Ashley had a sinking feeling she couldn't explain. "Hey Druitt!" the girl called.

"Miss Freelander," he returned with out looking back.

"People were wondering where you got to," she said conversationally.

John continued with his book. "I've been in here, reading," he told her. "I've barely moved most of the day."

"Why would you want to be cooped up in dust ball like this?" the girl wondered. It was the same thing Ashley would have said delivered in the exact same tone. Her sinking feeling increased.

"For the same reason anyone goes into a library," John said. "To read and gather information."

"That's why you have informants," she said.

"I'm reading DaVinci," John retorted. "I hardly think there are any informants left on him."

"I guess not," she agreed. "Listen it's about lunch time so you should move it along pretty quickly."

"I'll be there in a moment," John said with finality. The Freelander girl shrugged and left. Clearly she knew a dismissal when she heard it.

"Seems like I need to be leaving again," John murmured.

"Who's that girl?" Ashley asked quietly.

"Hmm? Oh that's the ex con your mother brought in," he said distractedly. "Her name is…Kate. Kate Freelander. It suits her. Or rather it did."

"Why's that?"

"She used to work for the highest bidder," John told her.

"Interesting," she murmured.

John caught her tone and looked up. Ashley snapped her eyes back to her book but not before John caught a flash of emotion. He was intrigued but decided not to comment on it. "I should be going," he sighed, closing his own book.

"Yeah," she agreed. "I actually think I found something but it can wait until after you're done."

John reached over to squeeze her hand. "I'll be back as soon as possible," he promised. "Would you like to walk me down again?"

"I think I'm gonna wait up here," Ashley said. "People will start wondering if you just walk everywhere now."

John gave her a strange smile that she couldn't quite interpret. "People talk about me all the time anyway," he told her. "It's not that unusual."

"I don't think we should risk it," Ashley maintained. "Besides I want to read up some more. There might be more information."

"That's a good idea," John agreed. "If you need anything, you can still come down and get me."

"I'll remember that," she nodded. "Now you'd better get moving before they wonder where you are." John smiled and squeezed her hand one last time. Ashley gave him a thin smile. As she watched him walk off, Ashley wondered if it was weird that she was actually getting used to him touching her. She guessed that it really didn't matter because he was the only person that she could interact with anyway.

She flipped through a few more books but didn't much feel like reading right now. It was a little ironic that the one thing that could save her was the one thing she hated doing. At least she thought it was ironic but then she was never an English major, as her mother liked to tell her. "God this sucks," she sighed. She was tempted to throw the book across the room in a fit of anger but thought better of it. Flying books wouldn't do anything to help this situation. Sullenly, she marked the page in the book and went to watch out the window.

She heard her father's voice before his footsteps. "Ashley," he called softly. "Ashley, are you still in here?"

"You shouldn't do that," she said, not looking away from the window. "People will think you're crazy. Talking to yourself isn't a good thing you know."

"So I've heard," he agreed. He stopped about a foot away from her. "I didn't think I took that long at lunch," he commented. "Did you get lonely again or just sad?"

"Neither," Ashley retorted. "I just didn't want to think for a while."

"Understandable," John nodded. "Where is this book that you found?"

Ashley sighed and continued looking out the window for a moment. Then she pushed away and went back to the table. She opened the book to the page she had marked earlier. "It's right here," she said. She pushed the book over to him.

John studied the page she had found. It talked about the plans of DaVinci to make a machine that could propel a man through dimensions, including time as he theorized. "Not bad," he murmured, "But it does not show the plans. Nor do we have any idea how he would even conceive of such a machine."

"We're talking about the man that came up with plans for a tank," Ashley pointed out. "He was probably an Abnormal." John turned to her. "What? I pay attention …sometimes."

"Well that's a starting point but with out anything further we don't have much to go on," John stated. "The question now becomes, what's our next move?"

"You said Uncle James kept a journal right?" Ashley asked.

John thought back. "If I recall correctly, he did," John nodded. "At least he did back then. But even if he still kept one for all these years would it not be in the UK Sanctuary? His successor would need his notes."

Ashley stared at him. "Uncle James is dead?" she asked. John nodded. "Was it my fault?" she wondered in a small voice.

"It was not," he assured her. "He died during the search for the Source Blood. His suit gave out. But he was surrounded by friends which I believe is the way he would want to have gone."

"I wish I could have said goodbye," she whispered.

John reached over to squeeze her hand. "I wish none of us had needed to say goodbye at all," he told her. "But he has gone to a far better place now."

"You think I could convince mom to take me to his grave?" Ashley sighed.

"I've no doubt that you can," John agreed. "But we need to get back to business. Specifically the business of your uncle's journals."

"They should be around here somewhere," Ashley stated.

"As I said before, would they not still be in the London Sanctuary?" he wondered.

"Actually, I don't think so," she said. John gave her an inquisitive look. "You'll have to bear with me because I'm really reaching into my memory but I remember once when I was twelve years old a lot of luggage and boxes were delivered here. Mom and I were …we were playing in the study." She let the memories wash over her and her voice became far away. "The Big Guy came upstairs looking for mom. I followed her out to the balcony where we watched everything being unloaded. I remember asking her if we were going on a trip."

"_No trip," Helen told her daughter. "The luggage is not ours."_

"_Then who's is it?"_

"_It belongs to Hadeek Rashim," she said. "The man that ran the Sanctuary in India. You might remember him from when we went to visit two years ago. He gave you that pretty carved unicorn."_

_Ashley did remember him. He had let her play with his cats. "Why is his luggage being sent here? Is he coming for a visit?" Her mother usually did her business over the computer or the phone but it wasn't unheard of for people to come visit the Sanctuary to talk to her._

"_No he's not," Helen told her._

"_Then why do we have his luggage?"_

"_Because he died two days ago." Ashley looked at her mother curiously. "All his things are being sent to me so that I might go through them," Helen explained. "To make sure there is no sensitive information. When I've gone through and extracted anything his successor will need or anything that would not do well outside the Sanctuary, the rest will be sent to his family so they may mourn him."_

"_Will this happen every time someone dies?" Ashley asked._

"_When it is someone important in the Sanctuary network, yes."_

"If there was ever someone important in the Sanctuary network it was Uncle James," Ashley pointed out. "I know that things have been screwed up since the whole Cabal thing but she would still get all of his personal effects. Hell, he probably willed them to her."

"A good point," John admitted. "If I know your mother as well as I used to then his journal will be kept in her office. If we want it we will need to think up some reason that she should allow me to see it."

"You're not even supposed to know it exists," Ashley reminded him. "She'll never fork it over. Besides, he was a hundred and sixty years old. He's definitely got more than one journal. And you'd better hope you pick right the first time because we won't get a second chance."

"Then it appears we are at an impasse," John sighed.

"Not necessarily," Ashley said. John raised an eyebrow. "Well she can't see me right? So I'll go in, search the place and find what we need." John didn't look convinced. "Piece of cake," she shrugged.

"You can't just rummage around your mother's private office," he objected. "Especially if she's in there. Things moving on their own will not do either of us much good. She might believe something else has gotten into the Sanctuary and she will lock it up tighter."

"Ah, figured a way around that," Ashley grinned. "She won't be in there because you'll be playing a distraction."

"Distraction?" her father repeated.

"Yes, distraction," Ashley said. "Look I'm not asking for anything big, just get her out of the room for a few minutes so I can search."

"How exactly would you propose I go about that?" he asked.

"Like I know?" she shrugged. "Come on, do what ever it was you did back in the day. God knows you got her attention back then. You courted the woman after all."

John frowned at his daughter. "The rules have changed, Ashley," he reminded her firmly. "Things are different now."

"Yeah, I get that," she said dismissively. "Look, pick whatever topic you want but just keep her out of the office for awhile."

John decided it was time to switch tactics. "I still don't like you going in alone," he stated. "I could do this easier."

"You get thrown in the SHU and we're both screwed," Ashley reminded him. "I'll take care of it."

"Will you not be caught on camera?" he wondered.

"Not a chance," she told him. "Mom doesn't have cameras in her office. She's got all sorts of other security but no cameras. It's where she does her super secret work."

"Providing you do manage to get and take the books with out your mother's knowledge," he agreed, "How do you propose to get them out of the room? There are cameras in the hallways and books walking by themselves will cause no end of problems here."

Ashley bit her lip. "I hadn't thought that far," she admitted.

"I thought not," John said.

Ashley glared at him. "It doesn't mean this won't work," she insisted. "It just means we need to plan a little more." She sat back down again to think.

"When was the last time you actually thought out a plan?" John asked her.

"Dude, I have your issues and mom's instinct. Planning doesn't usually come into the equation. Now give me a second so I can think here." John was tempted to remark on that but thought better of it. Instead he went back to the book and tore out the page they'd been looking at for future reference. Then he replaced it on the shelf. "Another thing mom doesn't like is defacing her books," Ashley commented.

"We'll need this to compare to Watson's journals," he pointed out. "And besides we're already contemplating stealing. I don't see what harm tearing out a single page will do."

"Have I mentioned I hate it when you're right?"

"Not in words yet."

"Well, just so you know I do." Ashley thought harder. "There is one possibility," she murmured.

"And that is?"

"I could teleport."

John stared at her. "Can you?" he asked. "Even in this state?"

"It's worth a try isn't it?"

"Where would you go to?" John wondered.

Ashley thought about it. "Do you think they still keep the camera on in my room?" she asked.

"I wouldn't know," he said.

"I bet," she murmured, more to herself than him, "that even with them on no one would check them. There's no reason to. No one would ever go in there for anything. The Big Guy probably doesn't even clean the place."

"Mind sharing your idea with the class?" John cut in.

"I'll teleport to my room," she explained. "You can follow me when you're done with mom. I mean other than her, who would go in there? Only Henry and Will know me well enough to think it and the whole grief thing is probably still pretty fresh in their minds so they won't touch it. It's the perfect spot."

John thought about it. "This actually could work," he agreed.

"As long as you can get mom out of her office for say…half an hour tops?" she said, "then yeah probably."

"I believe I can find a way to do that," he nodded. "Are you certain you won't need help when in your mother's office?"

"I'll take care of the office," she told him, "You just take care of mom."

"Then let's begin," he said. Ashley took his hand as they began the trek to her mom's office.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **I'm taking a hiatus for the holidays. So there'll be oneshots here and there but no updating. Enjoy this and Happy Holidays

* * *

John squeezed Ashley's hand for a moment before extracting his own so he could knock. Ashley stood next to him breathing a prayer as they heard Helen give the signal to come in. He gently pushed the door open and let Ashley through first. "Hello Helen," he called quietly.

Ashley moved to stand behind her mother, anticipation making her fidget as she tried to stand still until they were gone. Helen didn't notice a thing. She looked up at him. "John," she greeted. "Is there something you need?"

"I was…hoping I might be able to talk to you," he said.

"What about?" she wondered.

"Pick a topic, any topic," Ashley told him.

John looked down for a moment then back to her. "Actually it's about James," he replied slowly, "And…"

"And…Ashley?" she ventured.

John nodded. "Any topic but that," Ashley groaned from behind her mother. John marshaled his control so as not to glare at his errant daughter.

"I understand," Helen smiled. "I thought you might come up here to discuss that." She looked down at the paperwork piled on her desk. "But John I do have quite a bit of work here."

"Helen, working yourself to the bone will not bring either one back," he told her gently. Ashley made a gagging noise. "Please I know this may not be the best time but we really should talk."

"I suppose I could take a few moments away," she grudgingly agreed. "Why don't you come in and sit."

Ashley began to frantically shake her head. "Get her out of the room," she snapped. "Think of something!"

John's mind raced as he tried to plot his next move. In an act of almost desperation, he reached out and put his hand over Helen's, stopping her from picking up the next file on her desk. Mother and daughter stared at him. "Helen we both know if we talk in here you will simply become distracted by your work again," he pointed out gently. "We should talk somewhere else. Somewhere where we won't be distracted or barged in upon." He removed his hand from hers. "Please Helen," he whispered. "We should do this sooner rather than later."

Ashley looked away, expecting her mother to give Druitt an icy brush off. Instead Magnus looked down at her hand and then back at him. "I suppose you're right," she agreed. She glanced at the clock. "It's nearly tea time," she commented. "Will you come to the sitting room and have a cup with me?"

Ashley whipped around to stare at her mother. Her eyes flashed up to her father whose smile was very nearly a smirk. "Oh you are devious," she stated.

"I would like that very much," he said.

"Lovely," Magnus smiled. Ashley noted with some satisfaction that her tone was still professional. Her mother set her things in order and rose to join her father at the door. "If you wouldn't mind walking down there I would appreciate it," she said.

"As the lady wishes," he agreed, holding the door open. As he turned to close it after them he winked at Ashley.

"I share his genes," she whined, "Could life possibly suck anymore?" She shook herself out of her loathing and hurried to her mother's desk. Helen Magnus was the ultimate organization Nazi. If Uncle James' things had been delivered here, they would have been logged and their location noted. She opened her mother's files and began to search for a clue. Finding a folder marked 'inventory' she clicked on it. She found excel documents for the belongings of every Sanctuary head that had died since her mom had started the network. "My god, mom you are anal," she muttered. She opened the most recent folder that was labeled with the name James Watson. "Jackpot," she murmured. It seemed like her adoptive uncle liked to collect things. It was one long spread sheet but she finally found an entry for journals. "Knew he had more than one," she said, "now the question is mom, where did you put them?" Their location was marked as 'T/O'.

"T/O?" Ashley asked the air. "What the hell does that mean? Come on mom, throw me a line." She continued clicking through things until she stumbled on a file that required a password. A few quick strokes and she was in. "Never let Henry do your passwords, mom," she advised. The folder had a map of certain places in the Sanctuary. It was marked out in code and one section was of her mother's office. She searched through the plans to find where T/O was. Having found it she hurried to that corner of the room to shift through things. "Of course," she sighed. "T/O. Trunk/office. God I feel like a blonde some days."

She actually picked the lock on the trunk and rooted through it. Finally at the bottom were the journals. They varied in size and color, some with yellowing pages and others that could have been purchased yesterday but all with same neat label on them. The name James Watson followed by a set of years going all the way back to 1879. "Good god, you liked to write didn't you?" she muttered. "I'm gonna need a bag for all these."

She cast around the room before finding a roll of trash bags that the Big Guy must have left there at one point. "Not what I would have liked but it'll have to do," she sighed. She ripped off a bag and began piling the journals inside. As she worked, she noticed that there was a gap in the dates. "Somehow I doubt he stopped journaling for ten straight years," she sighed. She heard footsteps coming down the hall; clearly her parents were on their way back. "Just stall a little longer," she whispered.

She threw the rest of the books in the bag and dug deeper into the trunk. She still couldn't find the missing journal. As the steps came closer she threw everything back in the trunk and began to look around the rest of the room. "Not yet," she muttered, "not yet." What she wouldn't give right now for Will's eye for detail. "But no, I had to get teleporting and insanity," she spat. "Life is so freaking unfair." Moving aside a stack of papers she finally found the journal. She threw it in and ran back to the computer. She finished logging out just as her father opened the door. He looked in as she teleported out.

"Thank you," John said, keeping his eyes on Helen. "I've been meaning to get some of that out in the open for some time now."

Helen gave him a small smile. "I'm happy to help," she told him quietly. "And believe the talk did us both a world of good." She moved to sit back at her desk. "If you ever need to talk again John, I'm here."

John smiled at her. "I'll remember that," he agreed. Still smiling, he teleported out of the room.

And into a scene from a nightmare. Ashley was curled into the corner of her room, screaming in agony. As he watched she began to sink through the floor. "No!" he shouted without thought for anyone passing outside the door. He vaulted over her bed and pulled her into his arms in a desperate attempt to keep her in the room.

Ashley couldn't see, couldn't think, couldn't feel anything beyond the all-encompassing pain that wracked every inch of her body. It was like she had been thrown into the heart of a lightening storm the moment she teleported. As her control slipped she felt herself sinking into the floor. Then a pair of warm strong arms wrapped around her and lifted her back up. She gripped tightly to the fabric of her father's shirt and howled out her tears. "Please don't let go," she begged, "please I swear I'll be good. Oh, god it hurts. I promise I'll do as I'm told just don't let go."

John thought his heart could break no more. He was so very wrong. At Ashley's nearly incoherent babbling about the pain, the tiny fragments left shattered into dust. "It's alright," he whispered brokenly. "I'm here, Ashley, I will not let go. I promise you. You are safe here." He continued his murmuring as he pulled his daughter to the window. He lifted her shaking body so that she was curled up in his arms. Ashley continued begging him not to let her go as he did it. "I won't let you go," he repeated. "I'll take care of you Ashley, don't you worry." Her voice began to quiet but he could tell it was only because her throat was beginning to give out. Finally the shaking and the tears stopped. John wasn't sure if it was because she had fallen asleep or passed out from the pain. In the end it didn't matter. As long as she stopped hurting he didn't care how it happened. Pressing a gentle kiss to her temple, he set her down on her bed. He covered her up and settled in on her lounge chair with the journals. He didn't want to be far if the pain struck her again.

When Ashley opened her eyes again it was dark. Night had clearly fallen a long time ago. She rested there to see how her muscles were feeling. The mind numbing pain was not there anymore. Now there was just a deep-set ache like the kind she'd get when she over did a work out. As she continued to stare at her ceiling, a soft voice floated towards her. "How are you feeling?"

She carefully sat up to see her father sitting on her lounge chair. The moonlight hitting him made him look unreal. And not in a completely good way either. "I'm better than I was," she whispered then coughed.

"Your throat is probably still sore," he told her in the same soft tone. "Would you like me to get you some water?" Ashley gave a slow nod. She had to close her eyes against the bright flash of his teleporting in the dark room. He was back quickly and handed her the glass before taking up his seat on the chair again.

Ashley drank half the glass and then tried her voice once more. "Well that was an experience," she rasped. "I guess my voice is going to be gone for a while."

"Most likely," John agreed.

"So, teleporting…not a good idea in this state."

"That is an understatement," he sighed. "Are you still in pain?"

Ashley could read the concern in his voice even if she couldn't see his eyes. She watched his hand twitch as he checked the instinctive reaction to reach out. She was glad for that. She wasn't certain that she could handle too much compassion or empathy right now. "There's an ache but no real pain," she told him. She reached for the glass again. "What time is it?"

"About two thirty in the morning," he supplied. "You've been out for quite a while." Ashley tried to laugh but ended up coughing. John leaned forward but caught himself before he went any further. She shook her head.

"Tell me about it," she said when she got the coughing under control. "Looks like I used up an entire day."

"After what happened I believe rest was quite warranted," he told her.

Ashley nodded without really hearing. A thought struck her. "Have you been here the whole time?" she asked.

"I have," he nodded. "I was worried that the pain might come back and I didn't want you to be alone if that happened."

"Oh," she said, clearly surprised. "Um, thanks...for staying. Didn't they wonder where you were?"

"It's quite possible," he agreed. "But I believe most people here think that I'm only staying around for your mother so they don't much care."

Ashley didn't answer that. "Have you made any progress on the journals yet?" she asked.

"I tried but then I realized that if anyone happened to glance at the camera they would think it rather odd. Better that they just think I was mourning the daughter I barely knew."

Ashley looked out the window to gather her thoughts. She really didn't want to hit on these topics right now. She reached for the glass and sipped more water. "You can look at them once night falls," she told him.

"Excuse me?"

"The journals," she explained. "Once it gets late, like around ten or so, mom has Henry turn the cameras off."

"Doesn't that leave the Sanctuary unprotected?" John wondered.

"There's infrared and heat sensors," Ashley told him. "So they know that you're in the room but they can't tell what exactly you're doing. It would probably be best to put the books in your room for that reason."

John nodded. "Do you feel up to walking?" he asked.

"Teleport the books over first," Ashley decided. "I should be ready to walk by the time you come back." Again she had to close her eyes against bright light. Ashley swung her legs out and got up gingerly. It was a little painful but nothing she couldn't deal with.

"Would you like help?" her father wondered. Ashley shook her head. John held out his hand to her. Ashley bit her lip as she looked at it. "I won't hurt you," he whispered. Ashley continued to hesitate. Just as he was about to withdraw his offer, she reached out and grabbed it like a lifeline. John gave her a soft smile and together they walked back to his room.

"We should hide them for now," Ashley said. "Dawn will be coming soon and the cameras switch on automatically at that."

"Is there anywhere that butler of yours doesn't look?" John asked her.

"You mean he actually comes in here?" she scoffed.

"Well, I'm certainly not the one cleaning," John shrugged.

Ashley snickered at that. "We can put them in the drawers," she suggested. "The Big Guy doesn't actually put the clothes away if I remember correctly."

"That is true," John agreed. "We should still scatter them just in case." Ashley couldn't deny the logic in that. They each took a handful of books and began to hide them around the room in various places. "That's all of them," John said finally.

"You should try to sleep," Ashley told him. "We won't get anything done if you're exhausted tomorrow."

"I'm not sure if I'll be able to sleep much," he confessed. "Are you going to stay here?"

"If you don't mind," she nodded.

"Of course not," John told her. "Feel free to wake me up if you need anything." Ashley nodded again. "If you'd face the window so that I may get undressed." She turned around and John quickly shed his clothes and got into bed. "You can look now," he told her.

Ashley settled on the window sill again. "Sleep well," she said quietly.

"You too," he agreed.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Just a note for everyone, John is not holding Ashley to this existance. He can see her because he is also a teleporter. Ashley is mostly being held here by sheer force of will.

* * *

John was awoken the next morning by knocking on the door. It was actually rather loud knocking. "You should answer that," Ashley told him, "Tesla doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"Bloody hell," John murmured. He struggled into a sitting position. "Turn around," he told his daughter quietly. Ashley obediently faced the window again. John grabbed his pants from last night and pulled them on. Growling, he threw the door open. "Nikola, I swear to god if someone isn't dead, you will be."

Tesla raised an eyebrow. "Aren't we cranky in the morning?" he commented.

"Nikola, either tell me why you are disturbing me at this hour or be gone from the doorway," John stated. After only about three hours of sleep he was in no mood to deal with the snarky vampire.

"It's nearly time for breakfast and no one's seen you since lunch yesterday," Nikola told him. "We were all worried."

"The only person you worry about is yourself," John growled.

"True," he agreed. "But Helen wondered and I offered to hunt you down."

"Oh, I just bet," John sighed. He bit back the other smart retorts that were forming in his head. "Tell Helen I shall be down as soon as I finish getting ready." Nikola just continued to smirk as he walked. John resisted the urge to slam the door and turned to his daughter. "Were you alright last night?" he asked in a low tone.

"The pain didn't come back if that's what you're asking," she said still looking out the window.

"Did you…go out of synch again?"

Ashley shook her head. "I stayed here the whole night."

John pulled out a new shirt and began to put it on. "How does your throat feel now? Still sore?"

"It's better," she told him. "A little sore I guess but not too bad. It should be fine as long as I don't talk much." She smiled wryly at her reflection. "Not that I have many people to talk to."

John paused in pulling on his pants. He wanted to give her words of comfort but couldn't find any. All the promises he could make to her would be hollow and she knew that. In the end he continued dressing in silence. "Do you want to walk down?" he offered.

Ashley hesitated. She was getting a little too comfortable with him. He was the bad guy after all. But he was also the only one that could help her. That didn't mean he was going to stay nice forever. _Fuck forever, _she decided. All she had was now and that was all that mattered. Besides, she wasn't calling him dad yet even in her thoughts so there's still hope for her. "Yeah I think I will," she said hopping off her seat.

John held the door open for her with a smile. Even if he could make no progress with Helen, there was always a chance he could reconcile with Ashley. "This is where we part ways," he said quietly as they reached the dining hall.

"I'll be waiting up in your room," Ashley told him. "I've got a way to do this right."

"As you wish," John agreed. He didn't like leaving his daughter alone for so long but he had no choice. Anything they would do to save her required that he appear as normal as possible. The most he could do was leave as soon as he could with out causing suspicion and hope she wasn't lonely in the mean time.

Ashley knew she should go up to her father's room and wait there for him. She didn't' need to be sneaking around causing trouble. The cameras could pick up her actions even if they couldn't pick up her. But she was the daughter of Helen Magnus and defiant by nature. She would just be a few moments really. If Druitt asked she'd tell him that she had slipped down again.

The first place her feet took her was Henry's room. She paused at the doorway. It wasn't right for her to snoop. With a roll of her eyes she phased through the door. "I'm getting better at that," she praised herself. The room didn't look much different than when she had left. Still all sorts of geek things all over, not that surprising really. She walked through, running her hands over everything. The buzz of electricity she always felt was beginning to get annoying. She paused as she noticed a picture of them on his nightstand. It was from years ago, when they were both kids. The picture used to sit in her mom's study. Which meant that Henry had lifted it and put it in here. "Nice to know I'm missed," she sighed.

Next she found her way to Will's office. She had never actually been in there before. Well maybe once when he was first setting up shop but that was a long time ago. It was very professional. There were stacks of files on one side of the desk, the computer whirled softly as it ran a virus scan, and there was an open book sitting on the patient's side of the desk. "Nice," she murmured. She left that room to head to his bedroom. She wasn't sure what she was looking for in here but it kept her mind off other things. His room was neat and tidy. The most personal things in it were books. Not too many pictures, she noted. There was one on his nightstand of a woman and a child. Ashley figured it was Will and his mom from before she was killed. She felt a little sad that he had so little to bring in to his new room. It wasn't fair really. She noticed a picture on his desk. It was of her, her mom, him and Henry. She couldn't remember when it was taken but apparently recently. She studied it for a long moment. "I'm sorry," she whispered. She had no idea who she was talking to or really what she was sorry about. But it still felt nice to get it off her chest.

She passed her mother's study and office on her walk. She didn't want to go in either of those two doors again. Her memories might have been a bit fuzzy but she remembered enough to know she had done some real damage and not just to the Sanctuary network. Your mother wasn't ever supposed to tell you she was scared and especially not of you. The world just didn't work like that. "It shouldn't anyway," she muttered. She didn't need anymore reminders about how awful she'd been. "Fuck this," she sighed. This was too much revelation at one time.

She trudged back up to Druitt's room and flopped on the bed. She covered her eyes with her arm in an attempt to block out the bad thoughts. If they were lucky, she would be back in her own body before too long. But that was only half her problem. The other half was what to do about the family that believed she was dead. What would she say to her mother? Henry? Will? "God, that's too painful to think about," she sighed.

"What's too painful to think about?" John wondered.

Ashley dropped her arm and looked up. "Did you teleport in here?" she wondered idly.

"People will start to talk if I walk everywhere," he stated, repeating her words from earlier. "Besides I couldn't take much more of Tesla."

"Mom always said he was an acquired taste," Ashley sighed.

John moved to sit next to her. He made sure to put enough distance so that she wouldn't feel trapped but close enough that he could still reach out if she needed him. "Your mother spoke to you of him?" he wondered. Ashley gave him a look that read, 'since when does she talk about her past to anyone'. "Then how did you know this?" he asked.

"I heard her talking to Uncle James," Ashley told him.

"That would explain it," he agreed. "Does your throat feel better?"

"It's alright I guess."

"Any phasing or pain while I was at breakfast?"

"Everything was normal," she replied.

"That's good to hear," John said. "You never did answer my question."

"It's not important," Ashley murmured.

John was tempted to push the subject but he didn't want her to shut down completely. "You said you knew how to do this right," he said instead. "What did you mean by that?"

Ashley got to her feet. "The cameras are easy to cheat when you know where they are," she stated. "Was Henry still at the table when you left?"

John gave her a thin smile. "Most of the table was still there when I left," he told her. Ashley raised an eyebrow. "I told you I couldn't take more of Tesla."

"Clearly," Ashley agreed. "It's amazing that you two haven't toppled the Sanctuary yet, you know?"

"You might be right," John said mildly. "But that is not what is important here."

Ashley looked him over for a moment before shrugging. "Like I said the cameras are easy to cheat if you know where to find them. And I've lived here all my life." She scanned the room. "Bring that chair over to the corner," she ordered. John did as she asked. Ashley climbed on top and reached up to the tiny spy camera in the corner. "Just a little adjustment here," she murmured. "Aaaannnnd….there."

"What did you do?" John wondered.

"I moved it around a little," she explained. "Now if you stay at the head of your bed, it won't be able to pick you up."

John gave her a look of vaguely surprised pride. "That's quite smart," he agreed. "We won't be able to start until tonight though."

"Why not?"

"Because the camera will still pick me up going through the closet," he pointed out. "We don't want to alert your mother to this situation before we have proof. As you said, if I get thrown in the SHU we both lose."

"I remember phrasing it a little differently," Ashley opined.

"Yes, well, some of us were both raised with and retained our manners," her father countered.

"Says the man who became a very prolific serial killer," Ashley stated.

"That does not count," John told her, settling back on the bed. This time he made sure to sit next to the pillows.

"Oh, hold on there," she said, climbing up on the bed herself. She sat across from him since the cameras couldn't see her anyway. "You can't change the rules half way through the game."

"And why is that?" John wondered with the hint of a smile on his face.

"Because it's not fair, that's why," she snapped. "I thought you Brits were all about fairness."

"Touché," he agreed. "But then we're not in Britain; we are in the United States."

"But mom always says that being British means you keep your integrity no matter where you are," Ashley pointed out.

John smiled. The girl certainly had her mother's verbal skills, even if she didn't use them that much. The two spent a good while just verbally sparing until John noticed what time it was. "I need to be off," he stated. "Can't have people coming to searching after me all the time. After all, the excuse of losing track of time only works so many times."

"And we don't need you thrown in the SHU," Ashley sighed. "Alright. I'll be hanging here as usual." She let herself fall back onto the bed.

John nodded. He was tempted to reach out to her but he held back. "Let me know if you need anything," he told her. Ashley raised a 'thumbs up' sign. "And no teleporting," he added firmly. "You keep to the slow path."

Ashley rolled to face him. "I do have some common sense thanks," she replied. John just smiled at the snipe and teleported out. "Why must I share his genes," Ashley sighed. She couldn't look through the journals and she didn't want to walk around again so she racked her mind for something to occupy her for an hour. She couldn't come up with much. Ashley shifted restlessly on the bed. She hated staying still for long periods, it made her antsy.

Ashley decided to close her eyes. She couldn't sleep, per se, but her mom was always trying to teach her how to meditate. It never really took because she didn't like having to just stay in one place. Whenever she wanted to let off steam she either patrolled or went to the firing range. Obviously neither of those were open to her now. She took deep breaths like her mom had taught her and willed her body to relax.

John wasn't able to get back to his room until after dinner time. Too many things needed to be done around the Sanctuary and for some reason Helen thought he needed to be included in them. He realized it was probably only so she could keep an eye on him. Still, he didn't like leaving his daughter on her own. He knew all too well how the mind could turn down melancholy paths when there was nothing to distract it. He wanted to knock to alert her that he was coming but knew it would look foolish. Instead he kept his steps soft so as not to startle her too much. He found her settled near the top of the bed, eyes closed. "Ashley," he called softly.

Her eyes blinked open. "Hey," she said.

"Hello," he answered.

Ashley looked out the darkening windows. "You've been gone awhile," she commented.

"After lunch your mother wanted all of us to meet in her study," John explained. "The world doesn't stop just because people die. Then I had to help Tesla with some worthless project he was working on. Your mother insists we try to get along." He snorted at that thought. "By the time we got through it was dinner time." Once again he sat down near her. "What have you been up to this time?"

Ashley shrugged. "I was actually meditating, believe it or not."

"Meditating?" John asked.

"Well, I figure since I can't sleep why not meditate?"

"I suppose that is a reasonable thing," he agreed. "How are you feeling?"

"Throats feeling way better," Ashley reported. "And no pain whatsoever. Best part is I haven't phased in ages." Just as she said this she dropped through the bed.

John reached out to grab her but she fell too quickly. With a sigh he realized that there was nothing to do but wait for her to come back up. He went to shut the curtains and decided it was late enough that he could retrieve the journals. The sooner they got to the bottom of this mystery the sooner Ashley would be able to stay in one spot. He rummaged around his clothes until he found the oldest of the journals. Settling in the middle of the bed he began to read.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Sorry about being MIA for so long. I've fallen out of love with Sanctuary (Gasp) and my beta disappeared. So I had to find someone to run through this for me. In that vein, I'm looking for a new beta. You'd get to know all the plot twists before anyone else. If you want the job, send me a PM and we'll work things out. Now for your reading pleasure, here is Chapter Seven

* * *

It was only twenty minutes before Ashley found her way back up to her father's room. John got up at her soft knock and let her in. Ashley shuffled past him and flopped onto the bed. "That just sucks," she moaned.

"Did you fall to the SHU again?" John wondered.

"No just to the ground level," she sighed. "I had to walk up all those steps. Seriously annoying. And I found out people can walk right through me."

John settled himself back where he had been before. "I seem to be able to touch you just fine," he pointed out.

"You can also see me," she countered.

John nodded in agreement. "Who was it that walked through you?"

Ashley twisted so she was lying on her back. "Tesla, if you can believe it." She noticed him holding a mirror to the diary he was reading through. "What are you doing?"

"Come up here." Ashley looked at him warily. "Come now," he frowned, "What do you expect me to do?" Ashley had to admit he had a point. She shifted and climbed her way up to rest next to him on the pillows. John handed her the journal. "Try to read it."

Ashley gave him an odd look but took it anyway with a shrug. She dropped her eyes to the page and found nothing but unreadable scrawling. She squinted at it but it still didn't make any sense. "Uh, I can't. Is it in code or something?"

"In a manner of speaking." Ashley raised an eyebrow. "It's mirror writing. Something DaVinci was very fond of as well."

"Mirror writing?"

John took the glass that he had been using and slipped it tightly against the spine of the book. "Read the page through the mirror."

This time Ashley looked into the mirror rather than at the page. Now she could see that it was an account of October 19, 1880. "Wow," Ashley murmured, "That is new."

"Not really," John told her, taking the book back. "As I said DaVinci was quite the fan of mirror writing him self." He let out a sigh. "I'm about half way through this one but I haven't found anything. The problem is I'm not sure whether to skip ahead or keep on like this. Your uncle is a hard man to predict."

"Well there's two of now so we can get through it a little quicker," Ashley told him. She rolled off the bed and dug around for the second journal. "Have any more glass on you?"

"I'm afraid not," John said. "I lifted this from Miss Freelander's room."

Ashley raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I want to know the rest of that story," she said.

John frowned at her again. "Now really," he said sternly. "I simply teleported in and grabbed it from her bag. She wasn't even in the room when I did it."

Ashley held up her hands. "Hey, dude if sneaking around girl's rooms is what gets you off, who am I to question it?" John was about to snap at her when he caught just a glimpse of teasing in her eyes. They were both silent for a time while John continued to read. Then Ashley spoke up again. "Let me have the journal," she said.

John looked over at her. "Excuse me?" he asked.

"It's late," she pointed out. "You need rest. I don't sleep so I can keep going. It won't be dawn for a good four hours or so."

"I suppose that is true," John agreed. He handed the journal to his daughter who went to her normal place by the window. Quick and practiced motions had John undressed and under the covers quickly. "Wake me up if you need the slightest thing," he reminded her.

"I know," Ashley agreed.

"Also wake me if you find anything," John told her. "No matter what the time is. Understood?"

"I got it, I got it," Ashley snapped. "Geez, you nag worse than mom sometimes."

John smiled. "It's because she worries," he said. "And rightly so I would say."

"You're such a nice guy," Ashley sighed with a roll of her eyes. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Agreed," he nodded.

The next day Ashley nicked a small hand mirror from one of the guests and the two began to fall into an easy routine. Druitt would wake up in the morning, get ready and Ashley would walk him down to breakfast. While he was down there Ashley would be up in his room going through journals. When Druitt was done with breakfast he would join her. Occasionally he would be called out of the room to help with one thing or another in the Sanctuary but most often he only left during meal times. Sometimes Ashley would walk with him to the meals but other times she preferred to stay in the room and read. He would be back with in the hour. After dinner the two could continue reading until around 11. Then Druitt would go to bed while Ashley settled on the window and went through journals. Just before dawn broke she would hide whatever journal she was reading in one of the drawers. She'd watch the sun come up until Druitt finally awoke.

There was no pain so long as Ashley didn't teleport and her phasing only happened occasionally. She didn't' often leave Druitt's room because she had to stay there in order to look through the journals. At least that's the reason they had agreed upon. In reality it was too hard to look at the damage she had caused her family. The best way to avoid it was to always stay in one place.

As the weeks went by they found nothing except that the journals got progressively harder to read. Watson changed and rewrote his codes every few days it seemed. They were eventually forced to write things down and translate them before they could go any further. Druitt remarked that if his intention was to keep secrets, he did it very well. Ashley had to agree with that one.

They were walking down to lunch when Magnus caught up with them. As usual she completely ignored Ashley. She was actually very used to it by now. "John," she called. "I need to speak with you."

Both father and daughter turned to look at her. "What is it you need Helen?"

"I have tried to allow you relative freedom while you reside in the Sanctuary," Magnus started. "But I must say John, you're behavior is beginning to worry me."

"_Now _his behavior worries you?" Ashley snorted.

John gritted his teeth in effort to ignore the jibe. "What behavior is that?" he asked calmly.

"You spend all your time shut up in your room, you barely come out even for meals and no one can get more than two words out of you at a time." Helen studied his face carefully. "John, what is going on with you?"

"Wait a second," Ashley said sharply. "The fact that he wants to be alone is what disturbs you? What about spending nearly an entire day in my room? Or spending a day reading up on Da Vinci?"

The urge to glare at his daughter was becoming stronger as she went on. John had to work in order to appear completely calm. "There is nothing going on with me. Is it wrong for a man to wish to be alone occasionally?"

"Occasionally is one thing. But you have barely been out of your room the last three weeks. There is really a limit you know."

"If you fucked this up," his daughter warned.

John bit the inside of his cheek and counted to ten. "I apologize for worrying you," he said. "I have simply had…other things on my mind."

"As long as you are staying under my roof, I would appreciate if you would at least make an effort to become more involved around here," Magnus said firmly. "It would be a great help."

"If it will put your mind at ease," he nodded.

"It will," she told him.

"Then I shall do my best," John agreed.

"Thank you," Magnus said sincerely. She looked at him for a moment. John heard his daughter whisper a prayer that he was passing whatever test Helen was conducting. "Would you like to walk with me down to lunch?"

"I would be happy to," he smiled. Ashley brushed his arm as she turned to leave. Without thinking he turned to watch her leave as he did every day.

"John?" Helen called.

"Yes?" he asked, snapping his head back around.

Helen looked in the direction he had been staring. She didn't see her daughter going to turn the corner. "What it is?" she asked studying the corridor.

"It is nothing," John assured her. "I simply thought I felt something brush by." He forced a smile. "It must have been the wind."

Ashley fumed in her father's room while waiting for him to reappear. She couldn't keep it up though because the anger soon started giving her a migraine. With a sigh she flopped on the bed. She closed her eyes in an attempt to will the pain away. It didn't work as well as she hoped.

She could tell when her father came back because the bed sank under his weight. "Are you alright Ashley?" he asked.

"I have a migraine," she grumbled. "And it's your fault."

"And how is that possible, may I ask?" he wondered.

Ashley sat up to glare at him. "Because you nearly blew it," she snapped. "I asked you to keep a low profile. If mom doubts you in the slightest I will _never _be able to come home." She wanted to continue her tirade but instead let out a whine. She held a hand to her head as the pain spiked.

John reached out to grasp her shoulders. "Ashley?' he asked worriedly.

"It's the migraine," she groaned. "It spiked."

"You lay down for a while and rest," he ordered. "The journals and everything else can wait. I need to go attend to a few things but I shall be back as soon as I can." Ashley mumbled a protest under her breath. "Do as I say," he insisted. "None of this is worth anything if you make it worse. You rest here and we'll continue going through the journals tonight."

Ashley groaned. "Fine," she sighed. She pulled away from him and settled on the bed. "But just for the record, I am still pissed at you."

"I will remember that," John smiled. "Now you just lay here. I'll be back."

"Of course you will," she called, "You're a like a cockroach. You always come back!" She fell back on the bed with a pained moan, not seeing her father's small smile at the utter lack of heat in her words.

When John returned to his room after dinner, Ashley was meditating again. "Does that actually work?" he wondered quietly.

"Sometimes," she murmured. "Not nearly as often as I'd like though."

"Is the migraine still bothering you?"

"Not so much," she admitted, somewhat surprised. "Anyway how'd your stuff go? You kill Tesla yet?"

"Not yet, though the option looks more appealing by the minute," John said. He could barely make out a muffled snort of laughter from her. "I suppose it's late enough that we can go back to the journals." He turned to his daughter. "If you're feeling up to it, that is."

"Fork it over," she said, holding out a hand. John gave her the one she had started last night while he picked up the one that came after it. Father and daughter settled on the bed and read quietly, each with their own thoughts.

It was late the next day when John found something of value. "By god, you don't like to give up your secrets easily do you old boy," he murmured.

"Find something?" Ashley wondered idly.

"Possibly," he told her. "I need to go out and pretend to be social for a while. There are some things I need to think over as well. You rest here, I'll be back soon."

Ashley noticed the distracted look in his eyes as he teleported out. "Mom is going to kick his ass," she predicted. She debated looking at what her father found but decided against it. He'd tell her when he was ready. She rolled over on the bed and went back to her own translations.

John had been thoroughly distracted all day and was chastised by Helen several times for it. He tried to keep his mind on the topic at hand but it kept straying to the news in the journal. If what he read was true, they might be in the area of a cure. He teleported back to his room where Ashley was waiting. "Anything interesting?" he asked her.

"No but apparently you've found something," she said. She twisted so that she was sitting Indian style. "Care to share with the class?"

John reached for the note book he had been using to decode Watson's journal. "I have what might possibly be the cure to your current state," he said. "It's a machine that Watson thought up, based on the plans of Da Vinci as we thought." He passed her the journal which showed a crude ink drawing that resembled the one she had found earlier.

"Okay, so what else is there?" she asked.

"According to his journal, your uncle was asking help from Tesla as to how to build this machine. Somehow I don't think either of them ever managed to actually do it. From what I can tell it's all theory."

"Yeah, Tesla wouldn't be able to keep from bragging about an invention like that," Ashley agreed. "The man has such an ego. Does this mean we go digging around his journals too?"

"It means we can no longer keep our quest for answers confined to the Sanctuary," John told her. Ashley gave him a confused look. "If James was right and this machine can bring you back, we will need to build it. And we will need far more space and privacy than can be afforded here in the Sanctuary."

"So we need to leave," she said quietly.

"It would appear that way," John nodded.

Ashley bit her lip as she thought. "Does the journal have all the plans inside it?" she wondered.

"It doesn't," John said with a shake of his head. "We'd need to find Tesla's journals and look through them as well."

"And then we need to find a place where we can actually build this thing and make it work," Ashley sighed. She began to pace the room, murmuring to herself. Just as John was about to ask what was wrong she stopped and turned to him. "How exactly do you plan to get to…wherever we're going?"

"Well, teleporting is certainly out of the question," John stated. He then sighed. "To be quite honest, I've absolutely no idea."

"I know a place we can go," Ashley told him, "But it's far away. A different county actually."

"And how do you propose we get there?" John asked.

"I was thinking by…plane," Ashley admitted.

John gave her a careful look. "Ashley, there are such a number of problems with that statement that I barely know where to start."

"Try me," she challenged.

"Plane tickets cost money. If you haven't noticed I'm not exactly gainfully employed at the moment."

"I can hack into mom's bank account," she answered. John frowned but she held up a hand. "Before you say anything, remember that this is all so we can bring me back to the real world. I'm sure mom won't mind the expense once everything's fixed and we explain the situation."

John couldn't refute her logic. Helen had seriously considered sacrificing the Sanctuary network at one point to save Ashley. The cost of a plane ticket was nothing compared to that. "Going out of the country requires a passport," he told her instead. "I don't even have a valid birth certificate."

"That is why we are going to forge one for you." John cocked an eyebrow. "Well, okay, we aren't," Ashley admitted, "But Henry will."

"I highly doubt Mr. Foss would be willing to assist me on the best of days. I go to him with this information and I'll find myself in a cell before you can say 'Oxford'," John pointed out.

"Which is why you will not be going to him with this information," Ashley stated.

"Oh, I won't, will I?"

"No you won't."

"Then how do you propose to get him to forge me a passport?" John asked her.

Ashley shrugged. "He does stuff to get Will into all sorts of places," she said. "We'll just send him an email that he thinks is from mom to whip some stuff up for you. While he's doing that, I'll get online and get plane tickets. Probably should do it for a couple different places so they can't follow us so well."

"And how do we keep him from telling your mother?" John wondered.

"Because as soon as he's done, we create a power surge," she explained. "Files get deleted, lights go out, alarms go off; it'll be utter chaos. And while they panic, you make your escape. By the time they begin piecing things together we should already be in the air."

John rolled the thoughts around in his head. "You are hoping for a lot of things to go right," he pointed out.

"You have a better plan?" she countered.

"I do not," he admitted. He let another sigh as he looked at his notebook.

"What's wrong?" Ashley asked.

"Something in the journal," he said. "It's a bit…troubling."

"Troubling, how?" she wondered.

"Admittedly James was theorizing most of his research," John began. "But he did speak about the conditions that might befall one in your state."

"They weren't good were they?" It was a rhetorical question and they both knew it.

"He theorized that the longer one remained out of synch, the less chance they would have of coming back. He referenced your phasing as what would happen if one stopped being in touch with this dimension." John's voice dropped to a low tone. "He believed that if the effects were not reversed in time one would simply cease to exist altogether."

Ashley felt a shiver go through her at his words. She couldn't imagine a worse fate than that. She stiffened her shoulders and clenched her jaw. No theory in some old journal was going to frighten her off. She was a Magnus damn it. "Its all the more reason for us to go ahead with the plan," she stated. "If this works we won't need to worry about all that."

"There is still much to consider," John sighed. He looked at his daughter's vulnerable eyes. There was no way he could say no to her. "Very well," he agreed. "What would do you need me to do?"

"Just find out where Tesla's journals are," she instructed. "I'll take care of everything else."

"Are you sure you can?" John asked.

"Don't worry," Ashley said confidently. "I've got it all in hand."

"As the lady wishes," he nodded. "We'll start our plans tomorrow then." Ashley gave her agreement and they put the journals away for the day.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **No, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. I've just been really busy. But I'm back once again with a new chapter. And let's give it up to brndjms for agreeing to be permanent beta. She doesn't know what she's in for. Thanks to everyone who volunteered. Enjoy.

* * *

The next day both were up early. Ashley walked him to breakfast as she usually did but was not in the room when he came back. John made sure that Nikola would be out for the rest of the day before beginning his part. Searching through the vampire's files was not the smartest thing in the world but it for his daughter after all. He only found one journal there and from what he could make out the others were in Russia. That didn't bother him. He would simply teleport there once Ashley took him to the place she had thought of. Henry caught up with him as he made his way back down the hall. "Hey, I have stuff for you," the werewolf called.

John turned to him. "I take these are my papers for the mission," he murmured.

"You got it," Henry agreed. He handed John a file. "There's a passport, driver's license and some extra cash." John looked it all over. It looked real enough to him. "Can I ask what all this is for?"

"That is for Helen to reveal," John stated. "Thank you for this." He teleported before the boy could speak again. Ashley was waiting for him in his room. "I have the paper work," he showed her.

"I've got the set up ready," she smiled. "We'll start this just before dinner."

"Are you sure that is wise?" John wondered. "Your mother could find out by then. It would raise questions."

"I'll handle Henry," Ashley promised. "Did you find out where the journals are?"

"Russia," John told her. Ashley wrinkled her nose at that. John gave her a sympathetic look. "I'll teleport there once we get to your destination."

"I'm coming with just so you know," she told him.

"We'll discuss that later," John decided.

"Works for me," Ashley agreed. "We need to get you packed."

"Packed?" John asked.

"You can't just carry an arm load of journals into an airport," she pointed out. "Now start packing. I need to go mess with Henry's head." John gave her a small smile as she headed out. Then he turned to his packing. It wasn't long before Ashley returned. "He'll be chasing his tail for hours," she told him.

"Nicely done," John praised. "I'm packed and ready when you are."

Ashley checked the clock on his table. "There's an hour left. I'd get some rest if I was you. I don't think sleep is going to be on the agenda for a while."

"Very true," John agreed. He bent to take off his shoes when he was interrupted by knocking on the door. "That doesn't sound like your mother," he murmured.

"Probably Tesla," Ashley whispered, though she didn't need to. "You should answer it."

John winked at her before going to the door. He opened it to see that it was indeed Nikola on the other side. "Nikola," he greeted warily. "Can I help you?"

"I noticed some things in my lab were messed with," he stated, never one for preamble, "have you been down there?"

"And what reason would I have to be down in your lab?" John pointed out. If Nikola had something on him, he would have gone straight to Helen. Clearly he was looking for an opening, John would have to take care not to give him one.

"If I find you anywhere near my personal things again," Nikola threatened.

"You have no reason to believe I was down there today," John interrupted. "And if you continue to try to slander me any further, you will not like consequences of your actions." Ashley let out a low whistle. John had to bite back a smile.

"Alright then," Nikola said through gritted teeth. "I will only warn you once, stay out of my business." With that he turned on his heel and walked out.

John shut the door and moved up to the head of his bed. "Well that was a near miss," he murmured. Ashley nodded and climbed up on the bed.

"There's no way he can know you were there right?" she asked.

"Don't worry," he promised. "I'm very thorough at covering my tracks."

Ashley decided not to follow up on that comment. "Alright then," she agreed. "Like I said before, sleep would probably be good now." John nodded and settled into the bed. "I'll wake you when it's time to go," she promised.

Ashley moved to the window as she usually did when her father slept. She looked out on the building that had always been her home. Soon she would leave it with a man that she hadn't even trusted a few weeks ago. But he was her only link to the real world right now and if she wanted to rejoin that world she would have to trust him. He hadn't led her wrong so far. She shook off the strange and worrying thoughts and settled in. She had to be just as alert as her father if they were to pull this off. She did her Zen meditation until the time came for them to leave. She went to the bed and shook her father awake. No words were needed as he swiftly dressed and gathered his things. Swiftly Ashley went to the computer and hit the execute button on the virus she had created. Her father looked to her as alarms went off. She simply nodded and followed him to the street where a cab was waiting for them. "The airport," John instructed when they were both inside.

While John was at the airport listening to Ashley's constant stream of instructions, Helen was trying to figure out what in heaven's name was wrong with her Sanctuary. She, Tesla and Henry had been over every inch of data on the network. There were no Abnormals loose—thank heaven-but there was also no discernable reason for everything to have gone haywire at the same time. It was Nikola who finally found the virus and Henry who managed to get a program up that would shut it down until a more permanent solution could be found. Helen was quickly on the radio to check with her staff. "Will, Kate, John, come in please. Henry believes he has everything under control now. Is anyone hurt?"

The radio crackled and Will's voice came through it. "I'm on the second floor," he reported. "From what I can tell no one's hurt here."

"And you're alright?"

"My ears are ringing but that's the worst of it."

"Good. Kate, are you there?"

"I'm on the first floor with the Big Guy," Kate told her. "He looks a little worse for the wear, I gotta say. He thinks it's because he has sensitive ears."

"He does," Helen agreed. "What about yourself?"

"I'm fine," Kate assured her.

Helen smiled to herself. "Nikola, you're alright as well?" she checked. There was a biting comment laced with some innuendo which Helen ignored. "Henry, check the security cameras on all other levels to be sure that everyone else is alright."

"You got it," the tech agreed.

"John," Helen called. "I need to know your position." She waited but there was no answer from the radio. "John, are you there? I need to know what's going on," still there was no answer. Helen felt worry and just the slightest tinge of panic began to creep up. "John, I don't know what you are doing but I need an answer _now._" The radio was as silent as the grave. She took a deep breath to calm down. She reminded herself that John might not have a radio nearby. He didn't particularly like carrying one and was very likely to leave it lying on a table somewhere. "Henry," she called. "Can you tell me where John is?"

"Give me a minute to look," he responded. Helen's wait was easier this time because there was every possibility that John was simply somewhere trying to get his bearings. He probably didn't even know she had tried to call for him. However when Henry came back on, his words were less than comforting. "He's not here."

Helen frowned at the radio. "What do you mean he's not here?" she asked.

"I mean what I say," Henry told her. "I can't find him on any of the security footage."

"Are you certain?" she demanded.

"I've checked twice," Henry said. "Druitt is nowhere in the Sanctuary."

Helen cursed. "When was the last time he was appeared on the video footage?"

Henry didn't answer while he went through footage. "Uh, he's in his room just before everything started going off," he reported. "He doesn't look hurt or anything."

"Send me the footage and then continue looking in on our other residents," Helen instructed. She wondered what had happened. It was possible that John had teleported out but it wasn't likely. How could he have known that the EM shield wouldn't be turned on? As she watched the feed from John's room she realized that he acted as though he had expected the surge to happen. But that was impossible.

"Magnus." The voice finally cut through the haze in her mind. She looked up to see Will standing over her. "Are you alright?" he asked. "You seemed pretty out of it just now."

"I'm fine," Helen assured him. "Anyone hurt?"

Will shook his head. "There are some that got freaked out by everything going off at once but that's the worst of it." Helen gave him a thin smile. "Have you found Druitt yet?" he asked gesturing to her computer.

"Not yet," she admitted, "though his actions are quite troubling."

"Troubling how?" Will wanted to know.

"It seems as though he was prepared for the alarms and such to go off. As though he knew it was going to happen," she explained.

"Odd," Will murmured. Helen had to agree.

They were going to continue when Henry came in. "Hey, doc, I think I have the virus under control," he told her. "I'm still trying to see where it was sent from though."

"At least we won't have to worry about alarms or lights going off," Helen smiled.

"Yeah but I noticed something weird when I was going through files," Henry said. Helen raised an eyebrow. "There are about thirty receipts for plane tickets that were paid for from your bank account."

Helen's brow furrowed. "That is very odd," she agreed.

"I thought maybe it was for the mission you wanted Druitt to go on but I didn't think he would need to go that far."

"Mission?" Helen wondered. "What mission?"

Now it was his turn to frown. "The mission you wanted him to go on," Henry repeated. "I made him up a fake birth certificate, fake passport, even handed him some cash."

"I never approved him for any mission," Helen denied. "I didn't want him leaving the Sanctuary. He knew that. Why would John tell you he had a mission coming up?"

"He didn't, you did," Henry corrected. "I got an email from you."

"I did no such thing," Helen objected.

Will had only been half listening to the conversation as he watched the video that was still playing on Magnus' laptop. Something about it caught his eye. It wasn't just that Druitt knew the virus was coming. It was what he did right before he disappeared. "Magnus," he called, breaking up the argument, "come look at this."

"What is it?" she wondered, turning back around to face him.

"Watch this," he motioned. Just before John disappeared he looked at the camera and then at his pillow. "It's like a signal."

Helen wasn't completely sold but Will was rarely wrong on his connections. It couldn't hurt to go look in the room. "Come along then," she nodded. The trio made their way to the room John had been using while at the Sanctuary. Helen went directly to the pillow John had been looking at. "There's a note here," she called.

"What's it say?" Henry asked.

"It says '_Dear Helen, had to leave for a bit. Forever yours. John._'" She pursed her lips. "He never was one to waste words, I'll give him that."

Will moved to the wardrobe. "Something tells me he's not going to be back tomorrow," he told them. Henry and Magnus both turned to him. "This is completely cleaned out. I'm betting the dressers are the same."

Helen checked to be sure. "You're right, every one of his clothes is missing," she agreed. "He must have taken them with him when he left on his mysterious trip."

"The real question is where was he going?" Will murmured.

As the three of them were going through his room to find the note he'd left Helen, John Druitt was settling in on a plane. Ashley, unseen to everyone else but him, was in the next seat looking around. John noticed that she was looking rather nervous about the whole thing. He was about to remark on it when the stewardess came by. "Sir, you need buckle up, we're about to take off."

"Of course," he nodded, "my apologies." The woman smiled at him and moved on. John buckled his seat belt as asked. He watched, as his daughter grew more agitated as the plane began to rise in the air. "Ashley," he called quietly, "Are you alright?"

"Honestly?" She asked. "I'm terrified."

"Have you never flown before?" He wondered.

"Plenty of times," she replied. Her grip on the arm rests didn't lessen.

"Then why the fear?"

Ashley looked at him feeling very vulnerable. "We are hundreds of feet in the air," she whispered. "If I go intangible…" She let the sentence trail off with a shudder.

John rested his hand over Ashley's. "If you go intangible, I will simply have to teleport out and catch you," he told her. Ashley looked at him with the tiniest spark of hope. John smiled at her. "You are not in this alone, Ashley, I promise I will take care of you."

Ashley gave him a tiny smile as she squeezed his hand. "Thanks…dad."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **I love my new beta. The turn around on these chapters is so quick!

* * *

Ashley looked around while her father let his bags pass through security. "One day you will have to tell me you how slipped the knives by them," she said as they walked out into the Italian sunshine.

"What makes you think I did?" He asked, hailing a cab.

"You're Jack the Ripper," Ashley pointed out as she slid in next to him. "Look me in the eye and tell me you don't carry knives everywhere." Her father remained silent. "And for god sakes buckle up," she hissed. She reached past him and buckled his seat belt for him like he was a child. She rattled off the address to him as she did this. Her father in turn told it to the driver. "Honestly," she huffed, "don't you know basic car safety?"

"No," he replied. His daughter raised an eyebrow. "Ashley, the last time I used a vehicle for transportation there were far more carriages than cars."

Ashley blinked a few times. "That makes sense," she agreed as though she hadn't thought of that. John realized that she probably hadn't. "But still," she added. "You need to remember to look normal. Mom's probably hunting you right now."

"Your mother is probably more confused than anything," John replied. "Besides, I'm an Englishman in Italy. No matter what I do, I'll stand out."

"You're impossible," Ashley scowled.

John relaxed into his seat. "Your mother used to say the same thing," he mused. Ashley frowned but made no comment. The two just relaxed as the taxi wound its way around the city. John frowned as the neighborhoods around them became worse. He was really starting to wonder where his daughter was taking him. "Is this it?" he murmured.

Ashley looked at the pretty barren landscape. "Its close enough," she said. "Pay the guy and let's move."

John did as she asked and followed her out of the cab. "Does your mother always build in such rundown neighborhoods?" he inquired as they walked through slums.

Ashley remained silent. She took him to what looked like old ruins. John somehow instinctively knew that they were once a Sanctuary. "This was our last test," Ashley said quietly. "The Cabal sent us here after UK to make sure we really were ready." She bit her lip before continuing. "We destroyed everything before they even had a chance to send out a distress signal."

As Ashley closed her eyes against the onslaught of memories, John fought his natural instinct to hold her. Instead he took her hand as he did on the plane. "There must still be something here," he told her. "Else you wouldn't have brought me."

The distraction worked. Ashley shook off the ghosts of the past and marched forward. She took him to the very back where there was one corner still intact. John could make out badly tarnished silver doors. "I hope this works," Ashley murmured as she reached out. She pressed a button that probably hadn't been hidden at one point, making the doors spring open. "Come on," she said without looking at him.

John followed her into the old elevator. He held his tongue as they made their descent. Ashley would explain things when she was ready. The doors opened to what had possibly once been a basement. She led him to another set of doors then she pushed open. "This is… what exactly?" John wondered looking around the small room.

"My guess, it's one of the labs near the SHU. I don't remember destroying this part; I think it must have been one of the others." Ashley's voice dropped so John had to strain to hear it. "I try not to think about them."

"This will be a good base," John decided, once again working to distract her. "I'll need a bed down here and some extra security on the door. I wonder why the electricity still works."

"No idea. Do you really think you need more protection on the door? No one goes near this place too much. To them it's just an old ruin."

"Better safe than sorry," John pointed out. "Besides, your mother will be searching for me as soon as the Sanctuary recovers."

"Good point," she sighed. "I guess we should get this started then."

It took them nearly a full week to make the basement even remotely livable. John had spent time in some awful places but he was pretty sure this was the worst. They had to section out space for John's bed and a place for his clothes, not that he had many. Somehow they managed to find a bed within the rubble of the Sanctuary. There had been plenty of damage but a few rooms managed to escape ruin. Together they ran wire to install a small fridge and an electronic lock on the door. John realized that in order to survive he would need some sort of financial income. He couldn't continue to take from Helen because there was no doubt that she would be watching for that. John would have to resort to simple robbery.

Both he and Ashley were growing more comfortable in this strange relationship they were forging. Ashley continued to refer to John as "Dad" at random intervals and he responded with small displays of affection. Each knew that the other needed time and space to work things out. They had plenty of both at the moment.

"This place is ready," Ashley announced one day. "We need to take this plan to the next level."

"That means I need to go to Russia," John said.

"As I said at the Sanctuary, I'm coming with you."

"The last time you teleported you ended up in excruciating pain. I don't believe that you coming along is the wisest idea."

"I won't be teleporting this time. You will. It won't hurt me as long as I don't teleport, I'm sure of it."

John gave her a measured look. "Have you tested this theory?"

Ashley held out her hand. "There's only one way to find out."

"You're as stubborn as your mother," he scowled.

Ashley smiled her sweetest smile. "Funny, she always said I got it from you."

With a frown, John took her by the hand and teleported. They landed in a Russian alleyway. John turned to his daughter. "How do you feel?" he wondered.

Ashley rolled her shoulders as she considered the question. "Fine," she replied, seeming surprised. "No different than when we left."

John was just as surprised. "You were right."

"You thought I wasn't."

"Even you weren't sure about it."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "You realize you look crazy standing in an alleyway talking to yourself right? We should get moving."

John scowled but swept out into the street. If he had read Nikola's journal right, then the lab shouldn't be too far from where they were now. Getting in was easier than he had thought. The vampire really needed to work on his security. "Come now," he whispered to Ashley. "We only need his books for the moment. We'll come back later."

"You got it," she agreed. Without warning she shoved him into the shadows. She pressed a hand to his mouth before he could yell at her. "Tesla," she hissed. "I'll take care of him. You get what you need."

John didn't have time to argue because she ran off to distract Nikola. "Headstrong as ever," he sighed. He could tell that there was no EM shield on. Teleporting would be the easiest way to achieve his goals. He jumped to what he believed would be Tesla's office. It took him a few tries to actually get to the right room, that damn vampire was craftier than John wanted to give him credit for. After retrieving the plans, his next thought was for his daughter. Supposedly Ashley was still making Tesla chase his tail. There was no way John could get to her without giving away what was going on. He'd have to go back to where they had first teleported to and hope she could find her way back to him.

He was nearly frantic with worry by the time Ashley actually showed up. "Wow, you're here," she said.

"You thought I wouldn't be?" he asked.

"Let's just get back to the hideout," she snapped. "Tesla is coming."

John grabbed her arm and teleported both of them back to the crumbling basement that served as their hideaway. "Nothing like home sweet home," Ashley sighed. "Did you get what we need?"

John held up the book. "Let's hope the vampire was less secretive than James."

Ashley snorted. "It's Tesla, that's not very likely."

John privately agreed with her but they didn't have time for such things. He opened the journal to find what looked like meaningless scribbles. "Damn," he cursed quietly.

Ashley looked over his shoulder. "Is that even a language?"

"It's Russian."

"You know Russian?"

"I know enough to realize that I can't translate this on my own."

"So what now? We find a translator?"

John shut the book. "Now we go and find a library. A few translation books should do the trick."

"You realize the title as well as the actual translations will be in Italian right?"

"I realize that," he agreed as he stood up. He grabbed his coat and began to stride towards the door. "But my Italian is much better than my Russian."

Ashley looked at him. "How many languages do you actually know?"

John looked thoughtful. "Fluently or enough to get by?"

"Let's start with fluently."

"Eight, not counting the classics I studied at Oxford."

"And enough to get by?"

"Twelve more."

Ashley wondered how to respond to that. "When did you have time to learn that many languages?"

John flashed her a small smile. "I didn't spend the _entire _century killing you know."

Ashley was caught between amusement and revulsion. "I would hope not," she finally answered.

John swallowed the chuckle that threatened to bubble up and teleported them to a different alleyway. This one was in a nicer part of town. He approached a local and asked her where the nearest library was. John thanked her politely once he had gotten the directions he needed. It was the polite thing to do after all. He could feel Ashley's eyes on him as he swept out into the streets and wondered what she thought of the new side he had shown her. There was no point in asking her. She'd tell him on her own time or not at all.

The library was within easy walking distance. John knew he'd look insane but he went to hold the door for Ashley. Luckily, an elderly couple came up the steps just as his daughter breezed past. John continued to hold the door for them as a gentleman should. Quick strides took him to the information desk. After a few minutes of pleasant conversation, the librarian pointed him towards a back room where he could work in peace without worry of interruption. John thanked her several times before making his way there.

Ashley perched on the desk as she watched her father work. "That was pretty epic," she admitted.

"What was?" John asked, his distraction clear in his tone.

"Everything you did; the fluent Italian, getting us here, even chatting up that librarian so she would give you a private room. You're good."

"I wasn't always a serial killer. I was once a gentleman. And besides, I've had over a century to practice this," he murmured. He looked up at her. "You don't think your mother was the only one that spent that time learning, did you?"

"How did you know about the alley way?" Ashley asked instead.

"I stayed in Italy for a time."

"After the Rome thing?"

John didn't answer right away. He wasn't sure what she was talking about. Then it hit him. Rome, when Helen had been trapped with Nikola who was planning world domination, and when Ashley had first learned of her true parentage. "Um, no," he answered, not looking up from the book. "I left after that. This was a few years ago."

"Any particular reason for choosing Italy?"

"I had never been here before." John debated about going on but decided to forge ahead. "Your mother and I had planned to visit this land together at one time."

"I guess that was before…"

"It was."

The conversation trailed off into silence. Ashley had no idea what to say to him. John was waiting for her to make the first move because he didn't want it to seem like he was forcing her into anything. Ashley just watched as he seemed to fly through the translation. "So what have you found?" She finally asked to dissolve the tension.

"These are the plans alright," he murmured. "We're going to need equipment. Luckily I believe Nikola owns all that we will require. The real task will be building it and doing so in a timely manner. His research does not state how long someone in your condition would have but that's no matter. We shouldn't tarry anyway. The sooner we fix you, the sooner you can go home to your mother."

"Amen," she murmured. "Do you think you actually can build it?"

John looked thoughtful. "I've never done much work with my hands," he admitted. "But the plans are detailed enough and I can always learn."

"I think you can too…dad."

John looked up to see her giving him a soft smile. He smiled back at her and gathered up his things. "I've got the plans; translating any more would just give us insight to Nikola's personal life."

"Not something anyone needs to know," Ashley nodded. She slipped off the table to follow him out. "I guess it's time for us to go back to Tesla's lab."


	10. Chapter 10

Helen was still trying to track down John when Tesla burst into her office. "I thought you were going to catch that mad man!" He yelled and slammed his palms down on her desk.

"Nikola, what are you going on about?" She demanded.

"I'm talking about your psychotic ex!"

Helen jumped up. "You mean you've seen John somewhere?"

Tesla growled. "Not only have I seen him, I've caught him in the act."

"The act of what exactly?"

"The act of stealing. I told you he was the thief from before but you wouldn't listen. Now he's turning straight back to his life of crime."

Helen scowled at him. "As I recall you had no proof back then that he had actually taken James' journals and that was why you left in such a state. Now unless you come bearing the proof you lacked, I suggest you return to your lab where ever that may be."

Tesla opened his mouth but Helen's staff came in at that moment. "Magnus, you okay?" Will asked.

"We heard shouting," Kate added.

"Tesla bothering you?" Henry wanted to know.

Tesla whipped around to scowl at them. "Why? Something you're going to do about it, Tiny Tim?" The Big Guy stepped in between him and Henry. "Getting the walking carpet to fight your battles for you?" He glanced over his shoulder at Helen. "You really need to choose better company."

"That is enough," Helen stated. "Nikola here was raving once again about John being a thief. But since he has no more proof than he did three months ago, he is leaving."

Now Nikola turned to her. His scowl was fierce. "I'm not going anywhere," he snapped. "And I actually happen to have proof this time."

Magnus arched an eyebrow. "Then by all means," she gestured, "show it to us."

Tesla pulled out a DVD and handed it to Henry. "Play this," he ordered.

Henry looked to Magnus first. She glanced at Tesla before nodding. Henry shrugged and set it up on the computer. Everyone gathered around to watch. "What is this exactly?" Magnus asked.

"Security footage from my lab in Moscow, watch very closely."

They watched John teleport into the lab area and begin looking around. Helen noticed his lips moving. "Henry, can you turn up the sound?" she asked.

"Just a second."

With the volume up, they could hear John talking to himself. "I think this is it," he murmured. "Now if I can just separate it from its power source, this would be much easier." He turned to speak to air. "No, I'm not going to teleport it out of here like this." There was a pause as though he was listening to a response. "Because I'd be running an enormous amount of energy through it. Do you have any idea what could happen then? I could end up short circuiting my central nervous system." Another pause as though someone was speaking to him. "If you're going to pout, do it over in the corner. I have things to take care of here." A sigh. "If you want a job right, do it yourself."

Tesla reached out to stop the video as John teleported out with the large object. "That is an electromagnet capable of generating a tremendous amount of energy," he explained. "And it's not the only thing the mad man took. During the entire adventure he continues acting as though the air was talking to him."

"Apparently he has completely flipped his lid," Kate said.

"Did he do this before?" Will asked. "I mean the talking to himself. Was that a part of his insanity back then?"

Helen shook her head. "John had many problems but hearing voices wasn't one of them."

"So maybe his madness got way worse," Henry suggested.

Will looked thoughtful. "It's not unheard of for patients in a psychotic break to go even further. It's possible the loss of Ashley could have unhinged him more than before."

"But I thought he didn't really know her," Kate said. Then she looked at Magnus. "No offense."

"None taken," Magnus murmured. "I believe Kate is right. I don't think he's distraught over the loss of Ashley. It must be something else."

"It doesn't matter," Tesla growled. "What I want to know is how you plan to get my things back?"

Magnus glared at him. "Unless there's something on those tapes that tells us where he's going then absolutely nothing," she replied. Nikola opened his mouth but her icy look made him shut it. "He's a teleporter Nikola; there is no way to trace his steps."

"And since he has no credit cards, bank account or a cell phone, he's completely off the grid," Will added. "There's no way to track him."

"So you're letting him get away with this?" Tesla demanded.

"What do you suggest I do, Nikola?" Magnus snapped.

"Something!"

Magnus let out a frustrated sigh. "I have the entire Network on alert should anyone spot him and at this moment, it is the best I can do. Henry will run the footage to see if he can glean anything else from it but I would not hold much hope in that."

Nikola looked frustrated but he couldn't do anything. Magnus sent them all away but Will paused at the doorway. "This bothers you," he stated.

"Stealing is a crime and we don't know what the things he took can do. Of course it bothers me."

"It's not just that though. You're more worried about Druitt than the stealing."

Magnus looked away. "He's talking to himself, Will. He's never done that before. Even when he was at his worst he didn't do that."

"You're afraid that he's gone so far around the bend, you won't be able to bring him back."

"There was a time when I would have claimed to do it for love," she admitted.

"But that's not the case," Will guessed.

"I know that thinking this way isn't healthy, but…he's all I have left of Ashley. And that means more than you might think."

Will struggled for the right words to say. "I guess I don't really have a good answer for that," he sighed. "But you never know. Maybe he has a good reason for all of this."

Magnus gave him a thin smile. "I cannot imagine a single reason he could come up with that he would feel he could not tell me." She looked out her window. "I just wish I knew where he was and if he was alright."

John Druitt was at that moment in his basement lair in Italy. He had no idea that Tesla had just exposed part of his secret or that Magnus was wishing he would come back to her. His only thoughts were on his daughter and the machine he was building for her. Currently he was elbow deep in wires for the control panel he'd soldered together out of scrap metal from the city dump. He received a rather strong spark as he misattached a wire. "Bloody hell."

"Hey…dad," a bright voice called. "I have a question."

John looked over to where Ashley was sitting on the rickety old table he used for journaling and eating. "You're hesitating less," he noted. Ashley cocked her head to the side. "When you call me dad I mean."

She shrugged at that. "It gets easier the more I say it. Anyway, I was wondering about something."

"By all means, ask away."

Ashley slipped off the table and went to the little bed side stand that held her father's journal and alarm clock. The journal he had picked up two weeks ago during his trip into civilization. He'd written in the thing daily ever since; in real ink pen too. "I was wondering about the other super abnormals."

John frowned but didn't look up from his work. "I thought you tried not to think about them," he said quietly.

"I don't. But it keeps popping into my head. I was just wondering if you think any of them are like me. You know, not dead but wandering around scared and alone."

John straightened and cracked his back. "I would doubt that."

"Why?"

"You have a very unique physiology, Ashley. While the other soldiers were given your powers, they were not given your exact genetics. I don't believe any of them were able to make the same leap as you did."

Ashley looked at him with an almost unreadable expression. "I'm not sure how to feel about that," she said honestly.

"I'm not sure there's any right way to feel about that," he replied. "You feel what you feel. You can't control it."

"I guess." She looked at the control panel which was the only part of the machine that they had even started. Dad had said that they should work one piece to perfection before moving on to the next piece. "How's it going?"

"Slower than I'd like, but faster than I expected."

Ashley knew that phrase. He had used it a couple times now. She was pretty sure it meant he was having problems but he didn't want to tell her. Her mom had pulled that same trick when Ashley was younger. She had no choice but to accept it back then. Now was different. "So what problems are you having?" she asked.

"None you need worry about."

"Liar."

"Maybe," he agreed lightly. "But you wouldn't know." Ashley stuck her tongue out at him. "I thought we discussed you being more mature."

"Oh we did," Ashley agreed. "And I chose to ignore the entire conversation."

"You must have been such a joy to raise."

"Mom survived it."

"Someday I must ask how she did it."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "You know you love me," she teased.

John cracked a smile. "You are my daughter. I think there's a biological imperative in there somewhere."

Ashley was about to answer back when her father's stomach let out a particularly loud growl. She crossed her arms and frowned at him. "When was the last time you ate?" she demanded. John struggled as he tried to come up with an answer. "The fact that you don't have an answer right away means it's been too long."

"Isn't it the father that's supposed to scold the daughter?"

"Nothing in this family is normal and you know it. Now sit your ass down and eat. What am I going to if you drop dead from malnutrition? You're my only option remember. And you promised to take care of me."

John sighed. "So I did. Very well." He went to the small locker where he kept his meager food stocks. It was locked to keep the rats away from it. In his years on the run he didn't eat the most expensive foods but living with Ashley, his diet had dropped to an all-time low. It was Chinese takeout and what Ashley referred to as college food. Things that required little to no preparation like microwave pizza or ramen noodles. He couldn't afford to spend much money because the more he spent the more he had to steal. And the more he stole the more interest he would garner. Too much interest would send Helen in his direction. He noticed Ashley drifting away. "Where are you off too?" he wondered.

"Just above ground," she gestured. "I want some air to clear my head."

"I didn't realize your head was muddled."

Ashley shrugged. "It gets like that sometimes."

"Are you sure nothing is wrong?"

"I'm fine."

"As you wish. I'll be down here if you need anything."

Ashley smiled at him. "Where else would you go?"

John sighed as she hurried up towards the fast setting sun. "Where else would I go indeed?"

He made his dinner and ate slowly. There was little to occupy his time other than working, journaling, eating and the occasional conversation with Ashley. However she had been retreating into herself the past few days. John wasn't sure what was going on but he worried about it. Perhaps it had been the question of what had happened to the other soldiers the Cabal had manufactured. He still couldn't be sure of anything when it came to Ashley. Their relationship was too new and there were still too many walls for him to get through. He finished eating, cleaned up his trash and pulled out his journal. He knew it was unusual for Ashley to be aboveground on her own but he didn't go after her. He didn't want to seem to be hovering or anything like that. This whole parenting business was very prickly.

When he had finished journaling and Ashley still hadn't come down he began to get worried. He set everything back in its proper place before heading to the elevator. He thought up words to say to Ashley as the contraption slid upwards. John wanted to reassure her that she would be home soon. The doors opened and his words disappeared as he heard Ashley crying. He hated situations like this.

He teleported over to her but was unsure what to do next. He wanted to hold her but didn't know if it would be welcome. Ashley solved that problem for him by throwing herself into his arms. He held tight and waited for her to tell him what had set her off. He didn't have to wait long. "It should have been me," she sobbed. "It's not fair. Why do I get to live while they died? It should have been me."

John kept his silence until she calmed down. She was down to sniffles when he finally answered her. "You're right," he agreed quietly. "It isn't fair. But you cannot blame yourself, Ashley. Because it never should have been you. It shouldn't have been them either. None of this should have ever happened. But if you do need someone to blame, look no further than the Cabal. They are the one's responsible for this mess. They are the ones that deserve your anger and your hate, no one else."

Ashley held on for another moment before pulling away. She looked up at her father with broken eyes. "How?" she whispered.

"How what?"

"How do you deal with it? The anger, the hate, the all-consuming guilt? How does it not make you go crazy?"

"It's hard but there are ways."

"Such as?"

"Such as using something else to take your mind off it."

"What do you use?"

"I taught myself to name all the constellations. Whenever it got to be too much I would go somewhere that I could see the sky and repeat them to myself. I would keep doing that until I felt calmer."

Ashley tilted her head. "Does that really work?"

"Most of the time."

She blinked wide eyes at him. John was forcibly reminded of a new puppy. "Teach me?"

"Of course." John took her by the shoulders and turned around so her back was to his chest. Then he took her right arm and closed her hand until only her first finger was pointing. Gently he lifted her arm to point at the sky. "Do you see that bright star there?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," she breathed.

"That's Polaris, the north star. If you are ever lost and need to find your way home, follow that star. Even in the China Sea, that's north."

"North, Polaris," she murmured.

John began to move her hand in a pattern. "That constellation there is the Little Dipper. The North Star is at the tail end of that constellation. And if you follow Polaris over just a little, you'll find the Big Dipper." John traced that one for her as well. "Now just down from the Big Dipper here, we have…"

Ashley let her father's voice lull her into a sense of calm. Her eyes picked out each constellation he showed to her and tried to lock them into her memory. She knew it would take several more times before she would be able to repeat them like he did. Somehow she was okay with that. As he continued moving her right arm, she reached her left one back to grip his hand tightly. It was her way of telling him she was okay with this situation. She knew they were in this together and they had to rely on each other. She was finally ready to accept that he was her father and he was going to take care of her. Somehow, together, they would get through this.

* * *

**A/N: **E-cookies to the person who spots the blatant Muppets Treasure Island reference.


	11. Chapter 11

In the weeks that followed their stargazing, nothing changed immediately. After all, it's hard to change an entire lifetime of learned behavior in just one night. But Ashley used the term 'dad' more freely and John felt less uneasy about showing his affection for her. He had even given her a few tentative hugs and they were working on it. Slowly, perhaps, but they were working on it.

She was wandering above ground while her father labored below when she saw them; a surveyor and some guy in a suit. They were clearly here to try and develop the land. It was even possible they had been sent by her mother. Normally, Ashley would have let them go by. She didn't like attention. But she needed this space for her father to finish building the machine to bring her back to the real world.

They couldn't be allowed to work on this site. Her father would be found and Ashley could give up all hope of ever returning home. She had to think quickly if her secret was going to remain intact. She noticed the rock near her feet and threw it at them, more in anger and panic than anything. The workers all jumped and looked around for the person that caused the disturbance.

Ashley smiled. She waited until they were looking in her direction and threw another one. They began to look nervous. She couldn't just keep throwing rocks at them though. She walked up right next to suit guy. Before she could even do anything, he seemed to feel the drop in temperature or something. He jumped away from her. She reached over to shove the surveyor to the ground. They decided they didn't need to stay at that point.

John raised an eyebrow as he watched his daughter walk in chuckling. "You look very upbeat," he noted. "What happened?"

"I got to scare some people upstairs. It was kinda fun."

"People upstairs? Who were they?"

"Some dude in a suit and a surveyor. I think they were here to fix this place up. They're gone for now though."

"Do you think they'll be back?"

"Possible, but it's not likely. I think they'll spread the rumor about this place being haunted. That should buy us some time."

"I suppose so." John studied her for a moment. "You look tired. You should rest some." With that he snapped his mask back down and continued welding.

"You're probably right," Ashley muttered. She curled onto the floor and began to Zen. Her father had offered her a bed but she didn't actually feel the cold hard floor underneath her. This was a little worrying but Ashley usually pushed it out of her mind.

If Ashley actually slept, she would have said that she suddenly woke up, but since she didn't sleep it was more like she was jolted from a comfortable doze. It didn't bother her too much because she was pretty sure that she had been heading for a nightmare before it happened. Looking around, she saw no sign of her father. That was kind of weird for him. He rarely left unless he needed food and he had just stocked up yesterday. The clock next to his bed showed that it was nearly three A.M. Normally he would be sleeping during this time. "Guess it's time to go find him," she said to herself.

She was slightly surprised to see him resting against a piece of the wall staring up at the starry sky. Every time Ashley looked up the stars still took her breath away. She tore her eyes from the sky to her father. He looked completely torn down and haunted. Not a good thing for a man that was supposed to be saving her life. "Penny for your thoughts?" She asked, sitting next to him.

John glanced at her and then back at the sky. "Believe me, that would be quite a…'rip off' as they say," he told her.

"I don't know. You look pretty down."

"I have been coming to terms with a few painful truths recently," he sighed.

"You should be sleeping. What could have gotten you so upset at three in the morning?"

"Actually it was two in the morning."

Ashley looked at him. "You've been sitting out here for an hour?"

"I have."

"See now I have to know what's going on."

"I was writing up the day in my journal," he began. "And I had wanted to make the point that you are quite the remarkable young woman for your age."

"And that annoyed you?"

John gave a frustrated grunt. "What annoyed me is I can't actually make that statement," he growled.

Ashley shifted so she could look at him. "How so?" she asked.

"Ashley, I don't actually know how old you are. And when I thought of that, I realized I may be your father but I know next to nothing about you. I know that you have my eyes and smile but most of your looks come from your mother. I know you're an expert at all fighting styles but you lack discipline, I know that you want very badly to be taken more seriously by your mother and I know you want more than anything to go back home."

"That's not a bad start," Ashley said.

"Those are outside things Ashley. I know nothing of the girl inside. I don't know your best school subject, your middle name, your favorite color…For god sakes, Ashley, you are my own daughter and I do not even know your date of birth!" He took a deep breath to calm himself. "I suppose it just brought home how much of an outsider I really am," he sighed.

Ashley was shocked by both the sincerity in his voice and the tears in his eyes. Clearly his lack of influence in her life was really bothering him. "You don't know any of that stuff? Mom never told you?"

John let out a bitter laugh as he looked to his daughter. "The conversation never came up." He let out another frustrated noise as he ran a hand over his head. "Between getting the Source Blood and saving you from the Cabal, it was simply never mentioned."

"What about after all that?"

"Your mother and I were not on the best of terms then." He rubbed his hands over his eyes, suddenly feeling very old and tired. "I am sorry Ashley, these problems are mine. I did not mean to burden you with them."

"You ever think I might not mind the burden?" she asked quietly. John cocked an eyebrow at her. "I'm serious. We are family. And all the stuff that happened before is in the past. There's a chance that we can make this work. Not just you and me, but you and mom too. We could be a real family this time around. But you've gotta be willing to open up."

John smiled at his very insightful daughter. "I have the distinct feeling that your mother and I have had our time. But you're right. It does not mean that you and I shouldn't try to work things out."

"See? You're learning."

"Brat," John chided with mirth.

"And proud of it." John shook his head. "So you really should be getting some sleep but I can answer a few of your questions. For starters, my full name is Ashley Joy Magnus and I was born on May10, year of our lord, nineteen hundred and eighty four. I will turn twenty four years of age on my next birthday which is in…three weeks if I remember correctly."

"You do," John told her, slightly surprised. "Are you really only 23 years old?"

"You seem slightly shocked."

"Pleasantly surprised. You've done some amazing things in such a short time. You really do take after your mother in so many ways."

"I thank you for the compliment. And now _you _need to get to bed or we will never get that damn machine online."

"Which one of us is the parent here?" Ashley raised a challenging eyebrow. "Very well, I shall go," he agreed, "if you'll answer one last question for me."

"Hit me."

"Why is your middle name Joy?"

Ashley scrunched up her nose. "It's an incredibly embarrassing story."

"I think I can handle it," he assured her with a smile.

"Well, Mom always said that she named me Joy because I was the greatest thing that ever happened to her. She said she wanted me to remember that no matter how much we fought my birth was the most wonderful experience she had ever had."

John studied her. "That hardly sounds embarrassing to me. In fact it sounds quite nice."

"That is because you have never seen how vicious sixteen year olds in public schools can be."

"That is true." He let out a sigh. "And it is also true that I need sleep," he said getting to his feet. Ashley stood as well. "Thank you for the talk. I believe it did us both good."

"I think you're right," she agreed. Together they walked back down to their little hideout and John went back to his bed. Ashley stayed up for a little longer. After all, it wasn't like her body needed sleep. She thought about the past few months, it had been hard at first, to accept who and what her father was. But she had meant every word this night. That stuff was the past; it didn't have to linger into the present if they didn't let it. And Ashley damn well wouldn't let it. She made herself somewhat comfortable and began to Zen out again.

The next morning Ashley found that her father was gone. He had left a note saying he ran into town to visit the library. He needed to look up some translations that he'd done. Ashley couldn't fault him for that. Better safe than sorry, especially with the machine that was supposed to bring her back into existence. She didn't want any mistakes made; she couldn't imagine he did either.

But that unfortunately left her with unlimited time to herself. She wasn't sure if that was the best thing, it gave her nothing to occupy her time except thinking. And there were a lot of things she didn't like to think about. She decided to go topside and see if those idiots were back since she'd enjoyed scaring them.

John came back with several new books later that day. He thought he might find Ashley above ground but she was back downstairs. John shrugged and went to greet her. He found Ashley on the bed with a guest beside her. "Ashley, what is that?" he asked, as he set his things down on the table.

"It's a dog," she replied and scratched the Doberman behind the ears.

"I can see that, what is it doing here?"

"We were playing outside but it got kinda cold so we came inside."

John took a deep breath. "Ashley," he said in a warning tone.

"He found me," Ashley explained. "He can see me Dad. So I decided to adopt him. I figure he'll keep the developers away better than I can. I'm not that great of a guard anyways."

John looked at the dog then back at his daughter. He found it very hard to say no to her when she had that look in her eye. She was trying to seem like this didn't mean anything to her but John was getting better at peeling back the layers. He sighed to himself. "Does he have a name?"

Ashley lit up like the sun. "I want to call him James, after James Watson."

"You really think he's that smart?"

"I know he is. And you'll know too just as soon as he learns his name. Then I'll teach him tricks too." The dog barked twice. "See? Smart as Sherlock himself."

"We'll see," was John's only answer.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Just so everyone is aware, the football alluded to in this chapter is actually soccer. Remember, John is british

* * *

Ashley lazily strolled in with James at her heels. The Doberman was starting to understand his name. She could even get him to do tricks for her now; he was real good at keeping peepers away too, he could look incredibly ferocious if he wanted to. She paused as she saw an object wrapped in silver paper on the table. A card with her name on it rested on top. "What's this?" she asked.

John didn't look up from his work on the main machine. "It's a present."

"Why?"

"It's your birthday."

He was right. Ashley had completely forgotten. If she was still alive she would have been dropping hints to her mother for months now. She would have been pointing things out at every opportunity, making Henry check how much stuff was online, even leaving endlessly re-written lists on her mother's desk. She hadn't even thought about her birthday since she told her father about it. "What is it?"

"Open it and find out."

Ashley shrugged. She gently peeled the wrapping apart. She used to tear through presents like there was no tomorrow. She wanted to keep this intact for some reason. Inside was a sky blue journal with a golden "A" etched on the front cover. Between the covers were creamy lined pages edged in gold. In the back was a pair of crossed elastic strings for holding papers. "It's beautiful," she murmured.

"I know you'd rather be going home."

"You'll get me there soon."

"You're taking this much better than I would expect."

"What good is getting angry going to do? The machine will be built when it's built. Yelling doesn't get it done any faster."

"That's a very wise way of looking at things."

Ashley gave a half shrug as she sat on the table. She turned the diary over in her hands as she listened to her father work. "Dad, how long have we been here?" she asked.

"I believe it's been somewhere around the six month mark."

"Which means I've been gone for about eight."

"Yes."

Ashley swung her legs as she thought. "Do you think mom still thinks about me?"

John paused in his work. "I don't believe there's a day that goes by where she doesn't miss you," he answered honestly.

"I miss her too," Ashley agreed.

John thought she was going to continue but she just kept swinging her legs and looking at her new diary. He shrugged to himself and went back to the nest of wires he was trying to figure out. James came over to sniff around and John scratched his ears. He had to admit to a growing fondness for the dog despite his earlier misgivings. James was loyal if nothing else and that was a rare quality these days, even in animals. "Keep looking at it and you'll bore a hole through it," he drawled.

"Wouldn't want that," Ashley replied distractedly. She continued to turn it around in her hands. "Did you happen to pick up a decent pen for me to write with?"

"There are pens around here."

"I use ballpoint pens. You know, like normal people."

"Well, I never was very normal so I suppose I can ignore that comment. I can find you one now if you'd like."

Ashley didn't quite register his comment. She was struck by his earlier mention of being normal. "Uh, yeah if you wouldn't mind," she agreed.

John grunted as he tightened a bolt into place. "Very well then," he agreed. He grabbed a rag to wipe his hands off. "James," he called. "Want some exercise?" The dog yipped at his master. "Come on. Let's leave your mistress to her deep thoughts." Ashley looked up to glare at him but he simply winked as he headed out. She couldn't help the small smile that quirked on to her lips at that.

He was back quickly with a package of cheap Paper Mate pens for her. She expected some comment about quality or the fact that she hadn't been taught the "proper" way of writing. Instead he tossed the package on the table and set out making his lunch. Ashley thanked him again for the present but he waved it off. She and James decided to play fetch while he ate. Her dad even came topside to play for a few minutes, soon though they had to head back inside. A guy playing fetch with his dog in an abandoned ruin was going to attract attention. The rest of the day was spent by John working and Ashley writing in her new journal.

That night they sat up together on the top of the west wall. It was the only wall that was still standing after the damage. There was just enough of the ceiling still supported that James could curl up near them. This was their favorite spot to relax and talk. Something about this spot made it neutral territory. The past wasn't brought up, nor the present. They just talked about Italy and all the sites. Ashley would point something out and John would explain to her what it was. If she was lucky he would add some personal story to it. But those were from before she had met him, which made them alright to discuss.

Ashley gave a sideways glance to her dad. He was skillfully eating Chinese takeout with chopsticks and not spilling a single drop on his shirt. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did," he pointed out.

"Another one then."

"Certainly."

"When did you learn to eat with chopsticks?"

"I lived in China for about five years. Then in Vietnam for another three." John glanced at his take out container. "The food was better then." He reached in and tossed a piece of chicken to James who caught it in the air.

"So I take it you know Chinese?"

"Only Mandarin. And just enough to get by."

Ashley made an interested noise. "I realized something," she murmured.

"And that is?"

"When we talked that one night you pointed out how little you know about me."

"I did."

"You realize I know the same amount about you? I mean I don't know your birthday either."

"August 15th." He dug for something edible in the mess of bad Chinese food. "Didn't your mother tell you anything about me?" With a sigh he tossed a piece of broccoli to James. The dog was more than willing to take scraps. "I'd kill for decent sushi," he grumbled.

Ashley cocked her head. "I'm not sure whether that's more or less funny when you say it," she remarked. "But back on topic. Mom didn't tell me much and I didn't really ask."

"Surely you must have noticed that your family was different than most."

"Of course. But I learned pretty quickly to not bother asking 'cause mom wasn't going to answer. We got into enough fights as it was. I figured it was best if I just accepted you were dead and left it at that."

"So she told you absolutely nothing about me?" By now, James was used to getting food and he began to nose at John's arm.

"She told me a few things. She told me you were tall. That you liked words better than numbers like me. She also told me you liked sports and you were good at them." Ashley regarded him with a curious look. "Is any of that true?"

John thought about it. His daughter could see that he was in fact tall. He and Helen were both fairly tall actually. Ashley must have inherited his mother's height; she had been on the short side as well. He had certainly liked cricket. He supposed he had been fairly good at it too. As of two years ago he still held the record of 103 wickets, in a single match, he'd achieved when he was in school. John didn't go back often enough to check such things. He was passable at football. Math and English had both come easily to him. But he had preferred English because he would often read poetry to Helen so she would smile at him. He caught Ashley's expectant gaze and nodded. "Very true. A rather accurate portrayal actually."

"Except for the part that you were a prolific serial killer."

"True, but I imagine that's not the sort of thing you tell a young child. Or even an older one I'd guess."

"Suppose so. So is cricket an actual sport?"

John glanced at her then back at the view. "Never ask that of an Englishman," he advised her. "It's not healthy."

"I'll tell that to Will when I get back then. He's insistent that it isn't."

"You should certainly correct him." He looked at James who was getting more insistent about food. "You actually want to eat this?" he asked. The dog gave him a begging look. "Fine." He sat the container down. "Someone should get enjoyment out of that mass of artery clogging junk they refer to as food." He looked back at his daughter. "How do you know of cricket anyway?"

"I asked mom about it once. There was a match as we were flipping through TV stations. She remarked how much she missed watching you play."

John was surprised. He thought that Helen had long since gotten over their relatively short romance. After all they had been together for three years, but they'd lived for over a hundred. It was a brief period in both their lives, hardly worth noticing for some. "So what did she tell you?" he wondered.

"I begged her to explain it to me. She tried but it was way over my head. To this day, I still can't tell you much about it."

"Why did you ask?"

Ashley bit her lip. "I was young. I didn't understand what death meant. I thought you were still coming back. I wanted to impress you when you did so you wouldn't leave again."

"That certainly would have been impressive," John agreed. "I would have been more impressed that I was able to get into that house without getting shot."

Ashley giggled. She was glad he had kept the conversation light. "So what was your life like back when you were normal? Did you have siblings?"

"Several. Each of them an incomparable bore. My mother was the typical Victorian housewife. My father had absolutely no time for his children unless it was to tell us why we were going to shame the family. In a fit of rebelliousness I ended up at New College and with The Five."

Ashley cocked an eyebrow. "Really? That was your rebellious phase?"

"Keep the time frame in mind. Rebellious is a flexible term. Anyway, after the family life I'd had…let's be honest, even Tesla was a refreshing distraction."

"Ouch. That had to suck like a hoover."

"You have no idea."

"Do you have a picture from back then?"

"I believe so, why?"

"Mom would never show me any. She just said she didn't have any. I don't think that was true though."

"Wait here then." He disappeared in a flash of light. It wasn't long before he was back with an old photograph in his hand. "It's probably the only photo I still have of the time," he told her as he handed it over. "They were expensive and none of us could be bothered to hold still long enough for a picture to be taken." His expression turned thoughtful. "No, actually, there is another one down in my coat. But it's more me and your mother."

Ashley looked at the photograph in her hand. The Five smiled back at her from some room. Her mom was in the middle, flanked by Tesla and Uncle James. Behind her mom was her dad with his hand on his shoulder. Something about the stance gave Ashley a feeling of possession. Next to him was a man that Ashley assumed was Nigel Griffin. "You had hair," she remarked.

"Once upon a time," John agreed.

She studied the picture for a while. "Do you think things would have been different if…you know what didn't happen?"

"What, if I wasn't a serial killer?" Ashley winced as he said it and John pursed his lips. "Ashley, it happened. Being afraid of it won't make it go away. You'll have to face up to the fact sooner or later."

"I have faced up to it," she objected. "I'm just still not…comfortable with it."

"If you say so. At any rate, I think things would have been very different. You would have grown up in a completely different time, mostly likely with an entire house full of siblings. Your mother and I always wanted lots of children."

"I wonder if I would have liked the Victorian Era," she mused. "It doesn't seem like I would, you know? All those stuffy rules."

"I rather think you'd be like your mother. Obeying a portion of the rules in public while breaking them all in private. Besides, when it's all you know, how can you truly hate it?"

"That is a very good point."

"I'm said to have those on occasion."

"Clearly."

John stood up and stretched. "It's late and I need sleep," he declared. "Are you turning in as well?"

Ashley looked up at him, slightly startled. "No, I want to think a bit." She held up the photo. "Mind if I hold on to this?"

"It's all yours," John gestured.

Ashley turned the picture over in her hands. She couldn't help but think about how her life could have been different. She whistled for James to come over to her. "What do you think boy? Think we would have been happy back then?" James barked several times. "Well you probably wouldn't have been part of the family, but it's still worth thinking about."

Ashley scratched his ears. She would have to do something for her dad's birthday when it came around. He was being nice enough to help her out and even bought her a present for her birthday. It seemed unfair that if her mother ever found them she would shoot him before he could get a decent explanation out.

She looked up at the sky and began to name the constellations like her dad taught her. She had a funny feeling that she couldn't define. She just knew she didn't feel much like sleeping at this moment. Not that she actually slept but it was the principle of the thing. Her brain wouldn't shut off and she wasn't sure she wanted it to anyway. So she stayed up until dawn began to peak over the horizon. Then she whistled to James and they made their way back to the lair. Her father asked her where she'd been but didn't press for details. Ashley liked that. Her mother was wonderful but she had a tendency to pester Ashley when she was gone for long periods of time. Though, now that Ashley thought about what her mother must have been thinking during those excursions, she could understand it.

That next night, Ashley didn't go up to the wall with her father. Instead she found the picture he spoke of in his pocket. She looked at how happy the two of them had been. You didn't see a lot of pictures from that era with people smiling. Ashley guessed it was something about how long it took to get a picture done but her parents were beaming at the camera. It was like they couldn't stop smiling if they wanted to. She slipped the picture into the back of her new diary after studying it for a few minutes longer. She had an idea of what she was going to do but she needed her dad out for a longer period than normal. It would be best if she could come up with some sort of distraction but that wasn't likely.

She got what she needed two weeks later when her dad said he had to go into the city for some time. Ashley assured him she would be fine on her own after all she had James to guard her. Her dad accepted that as reasonable and headed off to his destination. Ashley waited until she was sure he was gone to head topside. Then she took a deep breath before teleporting back to the Sanctuary. She wasn't sure how she managed to think through the pain and find what she was there for but she did. Then she went back to their hideout and screamed until her voice gave out. She was still passed out when her dad came home.

Ashley didn't wake up until he was fast asleep and he didn't question her about it the next day, just offered to take her back home if she wanted. She declined. They spent the rest of the day working on the machine.

The next six months went as quietly as the last six had. Ashley tried to hold in her excitement as her dad's birthday rolled around. She slipped her present under the front cover of his journal while he went out for the morning paper and James' morning walk. "Anything interesting?" she asked casually when he came back.

"Earthquakes and tidal waves in Mumbai," he reported. "Scientists are wondering how to explain it."

"Wonder if mom's picked up on it yet."

"No doubt she's already dispatched a team and determined its validity."

"Of course. Think it has anything to do with the recent rash of Abnormal sightings?"

"Why would an Abnormal want to cause that kind of havoc?"

"Good point."

John tossed the paper on table and reached for his journal. Ashley peered at him through her lashes while playing with James. He opened the journal to find his picture from Victorian times. It was changed though. Now standing between him and Helen was a much younger Ashley, grinning brightly. "What's this?" he asked.

"It's a present," Ashley told him.

"Why?"

"It's your birthday."

John hadn't thought about his birthday in ages. As he thought back through the days he realized she was right. He hadn't thought about it since he told her the date all those months ago. "Is this what you were doing when I found you passed out?"

"I had to go to the Sanctuary to get the photo I cut that out of," she explained.

"I can see how asking me to help would take away the surprise factor," John said dryly.

Ashley gave him a bright smile. "Exactly."

John studied the picture again. "How old are you in this picture?"

"Young enough for mom to still refer to me as a little angel."

"That ever stopped?" her dad wondered.

"Apparently that stopped when I became a teenager. Guess I'm not so angelic anymore."

John gave her a fond smile as he tucked the picture in his coat. "Yes you are. You're my little angel." Ashley beamed at him.


	13. Chapter 13

Ashley despised the Cabal more than she would ever be able to admit. Words would never be able to fully capture her disgust at both the organization and herself.

_She'd wanted so badly to struggle against the straps holding her down but the medicines they gave her made sure she couldn't. That made her gag, in her mind of course. Then she started screaming as she saw the large needle coming towards her. _

_She continued screaming as a new voice came to her. This one was male unlike most of her doctors. "Ashley!" it called firmly. "Ashley you need to wake up."_

_Wake up? She was awake. She was strapped down at the Cabal with that bitch Dana making all kinds of horrible comments about the deaths she caused. "Ashley, don't make me slap you," the voice roared._

Ashley sat straight up. She was confused by the fact that everything was dark. So much of the Cabal was steel and white, it almost hurt her eyes. Then she remembered that she was underground with her dad. And she was trembling. "Daddy," she called in a small voice.

"I'm right here," a voice said to her right. Ashley realized the voice in her dream was her dad trying to wake her. Without thinking she snuggled close to him, wanting some real human contact. "Are you alright?"

"Bad dream," she murmured.

"One of your worst yet," he said dryly. John made himself comfortable on the floor and pulled his daughter close. "What did you dream about?"

"The Cabal."

Normally, John would let her be until she said she could go back to sleep. But the nightmares were getting worse. If Ashley had been solid she would have hurt herself several times before waking up. It worried him. He was going to have to push sometime. Why not now? "Ashley, what is it you dream about the Cabal? What happened there that scares you so?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You keep saying that but the nightmares are getting worse. Ashley, if you don't talk about it, they will never end. And you don't want to go back with all this over your head, do you?"

"No," she mumbled.

"Then tell me."

"It's dark."

John snorted at the tactic. "Please remember who you're talking to."

Ashley let out a noise that was somewhere between a laugh and a sob. It hurt her ears so she choked it off quickly. "I don't remember much of it," she tried instead.

"You remember enough to dream. And don't tell me you don't remember when you wake up. I see how your eyes darken at times. You know what you are dreaming, so tell me and ease the burden."

"I remember going in with Henry." She let out another strangled noise. "We thought we were so badass. But then we were surrounded. I woke up in a room with..." Suddenly Ashley couldn't remember the name of the red head that taunted her every night.

"Dana?" her father wondered.

"That's it. Dana Whitcomb." The way her dad stiffened at the name didn't go unnoticed by Ashley. "Daddy?" she asked.

"It's nothing little angel. Continue with your story."

"Daddy," she insisted.

"I'll tell you after you're done," he relented.

"They...they brainwashed me," she whispered. "But I didn't realize it until it was too late." Ashley swallowed hard. "There was this other woman...she used to come in and do the experiments on me." She let out a very distinct sob. "She talked to me like I was her daughter and all I could think about was mom. OH god I'm sorry!"

John rubbed her back. "It's alright little angel," he murmured, "Don't cry sweet girl. It's alright."

Ashley continued to sob for a while because it felt good to let it out. John knew he'd only heard the watered down version of what had transpired in the Cabal laboratories. He wouldn't push for more right now though. Ashley had made a start, which was all she needed at this moment. "I couldn't move when they did things," she said in a quiet voice. "But I could see and hear and think. I wanted to scream or cry or gag but they made sure I couldn't."

"You're safe now, Ashley. You don't need to worry about such things."

"But sometimes when I'm asleep it feels like I'm still there."

"I know. But you're not there. You're here with me. And soon you'll be back home with your mother where you belong."

Ashley curled so that his heart was right under her ear. She needed the calm beat to steady her. "Will the machine be ready soon?" she wondered.

"Very soon."

"What about all the other things the Cabal did to me?"

"Don't you worry about that. I've got it all worked out. Didn't I promise I would take care of you?"

"Yes."

"Then relax. I give you my word as a gentleman that nothing will happen to you. Everything will be fine, I promise."

Ashley waited until she felt steadier before pulling back so she could look her dad in the eye. "You stiffened when I mentioned Dana Whitcomb. Why was that?"

John was hesitant. He didn't want to tell his daughter such dark tales when she still wasn't that well. "I'm not sure if this is the sort of thing you should be hearing right now."

"Please, daddy? I don't want to deal with secrets anymore."

John took a deep breath. "It was before I knew you were alright," he began. "We all thought you had died. The look on your mother's face…I was angry, Ashley, angrier than I had been in a long time. It seemed righteous at the time. It seemed fair. I'd lost you, they would lose their life. I didn't want to face the look in your mother's eyes."

"You killed them," Ashley guessed.

"It started out with Tesla and me hunting down their various bases. We claimed to do it for the Sanctuary. That we wanted to stop other Abnormals from being pulled into their clutches." John snorted. "We wanted to watch the destruction plain and simple. But the lie worked well enough. No one questioned our actions."

"Something else happened."

"I went to your mother's study one day. She was still searching for a way to bring you back. She was insistent that you were still alive."

"You must have thought she was nuts."

"I watched you commit what I had always believed to be utter suicide. I simply couldn't fathom that you would survive such a maneuver."

"So what happened?"

"I still had blood on my neck from the latest kill. Your mother and I argued, as often happens. She didn't like my methods but I pointed out that she was still pleased with the result. We were both still stinging from the blow the Cabal dealt us. We couldn't comfort each other because that would cross boundaries we weren't ready to give up. So we attacked each other's weak points. I told Helen she was waiting for the day that I returned with Dana's blood on my hands. She didn't deny it."

Ashley let out a low whistle. "That must have been a fight to see."

"Your mother made some argument; I don't rightly remember what it was. I demanded that she plan your funeral. She refused. I left. When I came back, she was in black. I knew she had finally ended her search." Ashley stayed silent as her dad gathered his thoughts. "She told me to stay. I told her I didn't have the closure I needed. I went to a café in Paris with my cane from the old days. Dana was there."

"Closure meant Jack got to spill her blood," Ashley whispered.

John couldn't look at her anymore. "I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm just trying to explain what happened."

Ashley settled back into his arms. "How much of a freak am I that I actually feel safer hearing that tale?"

"You're not a freak at all," John assured her.

"Daddy, I'm glad you killed her. I don't think I could handle knowing she was still out on the streets." She let out a deep sigh. "What a pair we are, huh daddy?"

"Indeed, little angel."

Ashley felt sleep sliding over her again. "Love you daddy."

"Love you too sweet girl."


	14. Chapter 14

Ashley watched as her father made his calculations. "Are we sure this thing is going to work?" she asked.

"It's the best hope we have," he pointed out. "Do you not want to see your mother, Will and Henry again?"

"Yeah, but his thing looks pretty dangerous."

He smiled at her. "Your mother used to tell me that nothing worth doing is easy."

Ashley chuckled. "She says that to me a lot too." She paused. "_Said_ that to me a lot… Hopefully we'll be able to change that to the present tense soon."

John rested a hand on her shoulder. "This will work," he insisted.

"Just out of curiosity, what are the downsides to this little experiment?"

"Well, it will either bring you back to our full reality or…"

"Or?""

John sighed and looked at her. "Or it will over load your central nervous system."

Ashley let out a whistle. "So it could basically fry my brain?" she shrugged, "Always good to know."

"As I said, this will work. I'm sure of it. After all, we've followed the instructions to the letter." He slid underneath to finish the job. "Now hand me the blow torch."

Only twenty minutes later all the work was done. Father and daughter stood back to admire their handiwork. "We make a good team," Ashley stated proudly.

"I must admit," John smiled. "It's quite the accomplishment." He put an arm around her shoulders. "We've done some great work."

"Yeah," Ashley laughed. "Who needs Sherlock Holmes and Nikola Tesla anyway?"

John chuckled then sobered. "I do wish we could test it out before putting you in," he sighed.

Ashley gave him a one armed hug. "You said this would work, so it'll work. You'll see." Her voice was full of confidence.

John kissed her hair. "We'll find out tomorrow," he decided. "For now, we sleep."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. No sense in trying to use it if we're sick from lack of sleep."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "I hate it when you're right," she grumbled.

"I know. Now let us sleep. Tomorrow will be here soon enough."

"Only if we can actually sleep," Ashley sighed. John hugged her and they both settled in for the night.

The morning came both too fast and too slow. Ashley greeted the weak light of dawn with thoughtful trepidation. Her father knew that no words would help her right now. He placed a hand on her shoulder as they watched the sun finish coming up. He went to make himself breakfast while she played with James.

They could put it off no longer. "We could find another way," John whispered. They stared at the machine they had created together.

"This is our best shot," Ashley pointed out. "And I'm ready for it."

"You've got your mother's spirit," he said with pride.

"I think I get it from both sides." She looked at the machine for another moment before turning to hug her father tight. "I love you, daddy," she said through tears.

"I love you too, sweet girl."

Ashley pulled back enough to look in his eyes. "I know I'm supposed to be thinking positive and all but I just want to say something really quick, okay?"

"Of course."

"In the back of my journal, there's these letters. The names are on the envelopes. There's one for mom, Will, Henry, even you and Kate. I want you to promise me that if this doesn't work, you'll make sure they get where they need to go."

John pulled her close again. "I promise," he whispered. "But don't you worry. This will work perfectly."

Ashley pulled away and wiped her eyes. "Of course it will…totally." James nudged her leg; she crouched down to ruffle his ears. "Be good, James. If this works, everyone else will see me too."

"Come James," John called. He chained the dog to the wall so he wouldn't interfere. "It's time Ashley."

"Let's do this." She settled herself into the machine. Her legs were locked in first followed by her arms so she was spread in an X.

"Too tight?" John asked.

"Not at all, it fits perfectly." She licked her dry lips. "I'm ready when you are."

John pressed a kiss to her forehead. "This _will _work," he said again. Ashley nodded at him. With a nervous gait, he went back to the control panel. "Starting stage one," he said as he flipped a switch. Ashley felt a tingling in her limbs as energy began to flow. "Starting stage two." The electricity began. It felt like a bad sun burn, nothing she couldn't handle. Her father looked at her. When he flipped the final switch, there would be no going back. She nodded again. John nodded back. "Starting stage three."

He flipped the last switch and the machine went into over drive. Ashley was flooded with electricity and the pain forced her to scream. John could barely hear it over the sounds of the machine working. Electricity began arcing around the room causing John to take cover. James could hear his mistress' screams, he got agitated. He strained at his chain, adding his own noise to the clamor.

There was a loud bang before the room fell silent. John got to his feet and waited for his eyes to adjust. James had died down to a whimper. John absently stroked his head to calm him down. Ashley was hanging limply in the machine. He couldn't tell if she was breathing.

As he moved closer, he noticed the shallow movement of her chest. _At least she's alive, _he thought. "Ashley," he called quietly. "You need to wake up little angel." She let out a small noise. He cupped her cheek. "Come along, Ashley. Wake up now. Just for a moment."

With a groan she forced her eyes to half mast. It was enough for John. He bent to unlock her legs first and then unlocked one arm at a time. Ashley slumped in his grip. She tried talking but the most she could get out was a whine. "It's alright," he said, lifting her up. "You just rest now. We'll see how it works out when you wake up." He gently rested her on his bed and covered her up. "Just sleep," he whispered.

When Ashley woke up again, the numbers on her father's clock were just a little later. Maybe fifteen minutes. She strained her ears for some sign of her father or James. She couldn't hear anything. Nervousness began to creep up her spine. What if her mom's contacts had finally caught up with her dad? Without Ashley there, no one would believe his story. "Dad!" she called. There was no response. "Damn." She threw off her covers but getting up proved to be a challenge. Her vision swam and she felt the need to pass out.

Before the ground could meet her there was a bright flash. Gentle hands were pressing her back to the bed. "Easy there, easy," her father said. "Don't take on too much. We don't want you to hurt yourself." Reality started coming back and she felt James pressing against her legs. "Let's lie you back down," John suggested. "You'll feel better if you rest for a bit."

Her vision cleared and she looked into her father's warm eyes. "You weren't here," she whispered. "I was worried." James jumped onto the bed to settle between her and the wall. He licked her face a few times. Ashley scratched his side. "Good boy," she murmured.

"I stepped out for a moment to walk James," John explained. "I didn't realize you were going to wake up. I apologize for causing you concern."

"My throat is dry. Could you bring me some water?"

John disappeared for a moment before reappearing with a glass of water. "Slow slips." Ashley drank slowly. When it was down to half the glass she handed it back.

"How long was I out?"

"Almost an entire day, I thought it would be alright to leave you for a little bit."

"I thought it was the same day," she admitted sheepishly. "I was worried mom had found you. No one would believe you if I wasn't there."

John stroked her hair. "It's alright. We're both safe and sound."

"You promise?"

"Of course I do. You rest some more. I'm going to get some food. Is it alright if I go out?"

"Be careful," she insisted. "Mom's got friends everywhere and right now you are not their favorite person."

"I've been able to elude them before now. You sleep. James will watch over you." Ashley gave a sleepy nod as she drifted back in to slumber. John kissed her forehead and scratched James behind the ear before heading out.

The next time Ashley opened her eyes her father was sitting at his table journaling. "What time is it?" she called.

"Nearly dinner time," John told her. He finished his sentence and went to sit by her. "How are you feeling right now?"

"My head feels better. And my throat isn't so dry."

"Try sitting up." Ashley moved into a sitting position. "What about now?"

"Better. Do you think it worked?"

"It certainly seems that way. But we should probably test it in public to be sure."

"Can we do it now?" Ashley begged. "It's pretty dark. If we're careful we could get proof without too much trouble."

John hesitated. "I don't want you up and about when you're not well," he hedged.

"I'm feeling much better. Please dad? All it would take is a quick run to a supermarket, hardly a life or death situation."

He considered it. "If you are better, we will need to stock up on supplies though," he admitted. He looked to his daughter's hopeful eyes. "Alright." Ashley squealed and threw her arms around him. John held her tight with a laugh. "But just to the grocery store," he stipulated. "You need to change clothes. I'll not have you out in public looking like an assassin."

Ashley pulled back. "I don't have any other clothes."

John smiled. "You just wait right here." He hurried to the back of their little work shop and reappeared holding a bundle. "I picked these up not too long ago in the hopes that we would succeed." He pressed the bundle into her hands.

Ashley pulled at the string and opened the paper. Neatly folded inside was a set of her clothes. There was underwear, socks, dark jeans and her favorite red shirt. Ashley glanced up at her father. "You easily could have been caught."

"It was quite worth it," he assured her.

Ashley set the things aside and hugged him again. "Thank you…for everything."

"Anything for my little angel." He held her for another moment. "Now, it is time for you to change. I'll be waiting for you upstairs." He looked at the Doberman still lying next to his mistress. "We should bring James along. His leash is on the table."

Ashley sat on the bed for a few moments, after her dad left, running the cloth through her hands. It was weird to not feel the electricity that usually happened when she touched…well, anything really. She scratched James behind the ears before getting up to change.

Once she was done she looked at the black clothes she'd shed. "We're burning those when we get back," she declared. Then she turned her attention to more important matters.

She had watched her father lock up so many times she knew the procedure cold. First, hide all the journals; scattered so it was harder for anyone searching. Next, lock up the food so the rats can't get it. Then cover the control panel and the machine with tarp. She clipped James' leash to his collar and led him out. Then she punched in the security code to keep their lab safe.

Her father was out in the courtyard watching the moon. "Ready to go," she called.

"Not quite," he smiled. He held up her old leather jacket.

"Have I mentioned recently that you rock?" Ashley asked. John chuckled and helped her put it on. "So where are we going?"

"The small corner store I usually go to. We should get all the proof we need there."

"Awesome."


	15. Chapter 15

Ashley's mood had never been brighter as they got back to their little home. Just walking down the street offered an abundance of proof that Ashley had returned to the physical world. "You know," she said, putting the bags on the counter, "I don't think I've ever been so happy to hear cat calls in all my life."

John smiled. "That's not a reason to encourage them," he told her. He moved to switch on the lights and tripped. Bending down he realized it was Ashley's old clothes. "What are we doing with these?" he asked holding up her shirt.

"Burning them," she stated firmly. "I don't ever want to look at them again."

"Agreed. But that can wait." He put the clothes on his bed to keep them out of the way. "First, we must put the food away, then get you a bed and finally, we should think about contacting your mother."

Ashley paused in her task. "Um, actually can we wait on the last one?"

"Why's that?"

She took a deep breath and reminded herself that this was nothing compared to the secrets the two had shared. "Look," she said, turning around, "I love mom, don't think I don't. And I am dying to go back home."

"Then the sooner the better."

"Let me finish. If I go back to mom then she'll never push me like you do. She'll want to mend our relationship and get back on good terms and I want that too. But I don't want to spend the rest of my life being afraid of my powers. I can't. And I know that staying here with you will help me with that. You'll kick me in the ass when I need it. So I do want to go home, I really do. But not before I go a better grip on all of this, okay?"

John regarded her for a long moment before nodding. "Alright. But I warn you, you'll need to be more careful now than ever. It's a fugitive's life we're leading and will continue to lead until we can get to your mother and sort this out."

"I understand," she said quietly. "And I'm alright with that. I'd rather go back with a firm grip on my powers instead of a shaky one."

"In that case we'll need to get you some new clothes as well. And set up a schedule for your therapy."

"Therapy? I'm going to talk to a shrink?"

"No, I mean drug therapy. To reset your body from the effects of the Cabal. I've been able to design what I think will be an effective regimen to combat what they did. It's a lot of work and will take a long time to complete but it's also much less invasive than what the Cabal did."

"How'd you manage all that?"

"Contacts, hacking and several other methods that you need not know about." Ashley raised an eyebrow. "Let's just say it involved some rather unsavory characters and leave it at that."

Ashley gave him a mock pout. "Aw, you're no fun."

"Oh, I know little angel," John laughed. "Now put away that food. I'll go search you out a bed. Then we'll deal with those clothes."

"Done." John teleported upstairs while Ashley separated and locked away the food. James had caught the celebratory mood of the night and dance around her feet. For the first time in months Ashley felt real peace. By the time her dad came back she was whistling.

"Someone's in a good mood," he commented, moving the bed into the corner. "I hope this is alright. It was the best one I could find. Most of the beds are damaged up there."

"I am just happy to _need _one again. I never realized how much I took for granted before."

"Amazing what trauma can do for you."

"Says the expert on the subject," Ashley chuckled. She saw his eyes dim slightly and quickly changed the subject. This was too good a night to ruin it with dark thoughts. "So if we're going to burn these we should do it soon while it's still dark."

"You have matches?"

"It's called a lighter. And you need to gather up wood and stuff. There might be a fireplace in one of the lesser damaged rooms."

"What will you be doing?"

"I will be getting the things to makes s'mores."

"Excuse me?"

"S'mores," she repeated. "Might as well make a campfire out of this. Other wise it'll get all gloomy." John continued to look blank and Ashley laughed. "Seriously, you've never had s'mores?"

"I don't even know what they are."

Ashley laughed again. "Dad, you have so much to learn. Now go find things to burn, and a place to burn them in." She made a shooing motion with her hands. John gave her a fond smile as he headed out. Ashley gathered everything they would need to make s'mores. Then she looked at the clothes. "Pick them up James," she called. The dog cocked his head for a moment before going to the black pile. He gently took all the clothes in to his mouth. "Good boy James," she praised. "I knew you were as smart as Sherlock Holmes."

John was murmuring the constellations to himself when his daughter reappeared. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'll be great once these clothes are gone."

"Come with me then." John led her up a place near the top of the old Sanctuary. "I think this must have been some sort of sitting room," he told her. "But at any rate, there's a fire place over there."

Ashley looked to where he was pointing. There was indeed an old and charred fire place in the corner of the room. Her father had already filled it with wood. All that was needed was her clothes and a light. She dug into her pockets and pulled out a lighter. One flick and the fireplace was roaring. Then she took her old clothes and added them to the fire. "Now for the s'mores," she declared. Ashley settled on the ground and readied her supplies. "First," she stated, "We toast the marshmallows." Casting about she found a stick that would do the job. "Get out the chocolate and the graham crackers."

John did as she asked and watched as she put the mess together. "Am I actually expected to eat that?" he wondered.

"I expect you to at least try it," she stipulated. She took a bite herself to make sure that it was just right. "Here."

John slipped off his coat so he could sit on it. Then he began rolling up his shirtsleeves. Ashley gave him a questioning look. "Something tells me will be quite messy."

Ashley laughed. "It's supposed to be messy. It's a s'more."

"Yes, well, I have a limited amount of both money and clothing so let's try to minimize the damage, shall we?" Ashley chuckled and handed over her concoction. John gave it a dubious look but Ashley was waiting. With a sigh, he took a tentative bite.

"Well?"

"Better than I was expecting."

Ashley looked very pleased with herself. John supposed she had earned the right. "I told you so. You can finish that one; I'll make a new one. We have plenty of this stuff after all." James began whining. "No chocolate for dogs," she said sternly. He gave her a pathetic look. "But you may have a marshmallow."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **Just to remind everyone, we are completely off cannon now. This will no longer follow the episodes shown on scifi. We're in my universe now. (Be afraid, be very afraid.

* * *

Gregory Magnus was not a man that liked surprises. He wanted everything neat and orderly. It was a quality he had passed on to his daughter. This was why meeting in alleyways in the dead of night were not usually acceptable. However the note he'd received spoke of very private things which told him they had information. He had come to the alley to find a cellphone ringing on the ground. "Hello?" he answered.

"Is this Gregory Magnus?" a distorted voice asked.

"It is," he said. "I'm in the alley as you requested. Now where are you?"

"Why don't you try turning around?" Gregory whirled around to find a black clothed figure waiting there. The other person snapped their phone shut.

Gregory pulled his gun and leveled it at his stalker. "You'd better have a damn good reason for contacting me," he warned. "I don't' take well to threats."

"Of course you don't. You're a Magnus." Gregory cocked the gun and the black figure raised its hands. "Relax, Grandpa." It reached up and pulled off the hood. "It's me, Ashley."

"Gregory stared at his supposedly dead granddaughter. The fair skin, blonde hair and bright blue eyes were all as he remembered them. Helen had sworn up and down that Ashley was gone. "You're dead. Your mother told me. You teleported while the EM shield was on."

"I've actually got the Cabal to thank for my survival," Ashley said in the same distorted voice. "Their manipulation of my DNA meant I didn't die. I just went out of phase."

"How come your voice is so odd?" Gregory asked.

"Huh? Oh damn, forgot it was on." Ashley reached under the neck of her shirt. She came up with a black box which she shut off before putting in her pocket. "Sorry," she said in a normal voice. "You get so used to the voice distorter, you forget it's there."

"I'll just bet," Gregory agreed.

"Look I know you have about a million questions but can we walk and talk?"

"Do I have a choice?" he sighed as he limped forward.

"Always." Ashley gave him a bright smile. "This way, I've got about five minutes left on the dryer."

"Dryer?"

"I cooked last week so this week I do laundry."

"Clearly someone else is cooking this week," Gregory puffed. For a dead girl, Ashley was moving very swiftly. It reminded him of someone but he couldn't think who.

"Of course. You don't think I came back on my own did you?" She noted her grandfather was having trouble keeping up. "You could have told me to slow down." Ashley stopped so he could catch up. "I'm used to keeping up with longer strides." Soon they reached a rundown looking Laundromat. Pausing, she pulled out a scarf and wound it around her head. "Safety first."

"Ashley, do you know how long you've been gone? Your mother hasn't heard from you in over a year."

"One year, six months, two weeks and four days to be precise." The dryer beeped and Ashley began to retrieve clothes. She made sure to carefully fold each piece before setting it in her gym bag. "It's been a very long time."

"Then why have you not contacted your mother?" Gregory made a note that there were several sets of men's clothes being packed away. "Do you not wish to go home?"

Ashley paused in her folding of a pair of pants. "More than anything," she whispered. She shook herself and went back to her work. "But I can't, not yet anyway. That's actually part of why I contacted you."

"Does it have to do with the man you are living with?" he wondered.

Ashley ran a hand over a shirt as she thought of her dad. "It does." She turned to her grandfather. "What would you say if I told you I'm not the only one that needs your help?"

"Well, first off, I'd have to assume that the other person is this man you currently reside with, and would have to ask who he is." Ashley hesitated. That unnerved Gregory. "Ashley, has this man been hurting you? Do you need some sort of protection from him?"

"What? No! No, he's taking care of me. And before you start, I'm not just saying that. He really is looking out for me."

"Then why are you so reluctant to tell me of him?"

"Honestly? I'm afraid of how you'll react."

"Ashley, all I want is what's best of you. And if this man is honestly looking after you then I have no problem with him. I promise you. Please, you said you needed my help, right? I can only help if I have all the details."

Ashley took a deep breath. "The man that's been helping me is John Druitt, my father."

Gregory flinched at the name. "Are you serious?" he demanded.

"Grandpa, he looks after me," Ashley insisted. Her grandfather looked skeptical. "And you wonder why I didn't' want to tell you."

"I think I need to hear more of this story before I make any sort of decision."

"Then let's head out and get a cab." She grabbed her duffle and led him outside.

"How do you plan to pay the fare?"

Ashley shrugged. "I've got money."

"Where from?"

She shifted a little then sighed. "Dad…knocks over a convenience store once a week, same M.O. as England but without the murder. Teleport in, do the deed, teleport out."

"It's not as though the police shall have anything to compare with," Gregory pointed out

"Ah, but there's always mom." The cab arrived at that moment and Gregory could say no more. Being a true gentleman, he held the door open for his granddaughter.

"I'm not sure how I feel about you using stolen money."

"Like we can get it the normal way? You have to do what you have to do. Like dad once said, it all comes down to survival."

"Why don't' you tell me what else you've done to survive?" Gregory suggested. In low tones, Ashley gave him her entire story. She started from finding out she was pretty much invisible right up to present day. She spared only the most intimate and private details, knowing he would need everything if he was going to help them. When the cab reached its destination Ashley was out of words. Gregory looked at the desolate landscape. "This is where you've been living?"

"It's not the Ritz Carlton, but we call it home. Come on, I'll take you down."

Gregory was surprised when she led him to the elevator. "No teleporting?"

"Can't, too much energy clouding the air from the machine. We could end up out of phase." She keyed in the code for the door and listened for the hiss. Once the door was open she let her grandfather before her. The first thing he noticed was the tarp covered machine. The second was the angry Doberman ready to attack. "James," Ashley called. "Bad boy. You be nice to grandpa." The dog remained tense. "James, stop that! Heel!" The dog relaxed somewhat and sat down. "Sorry about that, he's normally used to guard the place." Ashley scratched her pet behind the ears as she moved past him to set her duffle on the bed.

"Where is your father, exactly?" Gregory asked.

"Oh, he's here. He's just clinging to the shadows." Gregory noted that poor lighting made for plenty of shadows to cling to. "Dad! Come on out, it's cool. Grandpa knows."

A low voice came from behind them, startling Gregory. "And just how much does he know?"

"Everything he needs to," Ashley replied breezily. She hurried over to press a kiss on his cheek. "Laundry's done but I'm seriously thinking your white shirt has had it. The only thing it's good for is scraps." She moved to the refrigerator. "There any leftovers still? I'm in the mood for a snack."

"Ashley." John's dark tone cut through her babble like a knife. His daughter turned to him with the guilty look of a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "Did you at some point stop to think that perhaps Gregory has been in communication with your mother?"

"And if I have?" Gregory demanded, finding his voice once more. "Does Helen not deserve to know her daughter is alive?"

John turned to glare at the older man. "I didn't know she was alive for the first 23 years of her life," he hissed. "And might I remind you that Ashley is my daughter as well as Helen's."

"So that's what this is about," Gregory snapped, "Getting back at Helen?"

Ashley wedged herself between them and held up her hands. "Let's cut the testosterone, alright?" The two men continued to glare at each other. "I mean it. Dad, I've been with Grandpa the whole time. Besides, I'm sure mom would have made her move by now if he had called her." John continued to look wary but let most of the tension drain from his body. "Grandpa, it was my choice to stay here. Dad wanted to send me straight home but I wanted a better grip on my powers." Gregory's stance began to mirror John's. "Are we good now?"

"I'm fine," John replied.

"As am I," Gregory agreed.

"Good let's keep it that way," Ashley said.

John looked to his daughter. "Ashley, there would be less suspicion if you would explain what is going on," he pointed out.

"The two of you went straight for the jugular," she countered. "I didn't get a chance."

"You're right," Gregory agreed. "But now we are both waiting."

Ashley slipped from between them and hurried to where they kept the journals. "I called you here because I found something interesting," she explained. She riffled through various things, coming up with a tattered spiral notebook. "Uncle James worked on a lot of things. Including a cure."

"A cure?" John repeated.

"For us," Ashley told him. "For our…condition."

"Ashley, state your meaning in plain English," Gregory requested.

"The whole insanity thing," she said uncomfortably. "Uncle James thought he had a way to keep it from happening, keep it suppressed. It's experimental, like the machine. But you have to admit, that worked.'

John took the notebook and peered at his daughter's cramped handwriting. It did seem like James had found something that could work. He had lacked the appropriate subjects to test it on, however. "It is interesting. But we have no way of knowing."

"That's where grandpa comes in," Ashley told him. She whipped around to give Gregory a wide eyes look. "You can make this right?"

Gregory took the notebook from John and studied it for a long moment. "You, my dear, need penmanship skills. But from what I can decipher it is workable." Ashley's look became hopeful.

"Are you sure?" John asked.

"I believe so," Gregory nodded. "But not here."

"Then where?" the other man countered archly.

Ashley could see a storm brewing. "I know where," she cut in. "Mom has a villa in Italy. It's in Capri but once we get away from the energy field we should be able to teleport."

Both men thought it over. "Let us see it," John decided. "Then we can move forward."

"Come on," she said, tugging her dad's sleeve. "Let's go now."

John gave her an indulgent look. "Very well. We shall go now." He grabbed his own leather jacket and tied it on. "Come along James." The dog instantly obeyed, coming to stand next to his master. "Coming Gregory?" he called as he strode out. Both Ashley and James were close on his heels.

"I suppose I have no choice," Gregory murmured. He limped his way to where father, daughter and dog were waiting. John locked their home and led the way out.

When they were clear of the energy field, Ashley took both men by the hand and closed her eyes. When she opened them they were outside a nice looking villa. Gregory and John waited while she went back to retrieve James. "Here we are," Ashley gestured when they were all there. "I'm pretty sure I can pick the lock."

John raised an eyebrow when the door swung easily after less than a minute. "Seems very poor security for your mother," he noted.

"This place isn't for work," Ashley explained, "It's to relax. It's supposed to be very low maintenance."

"And how can you be sure she won't show while we're here?" Gregory asked.

Ashley shrugged. "Mom's a workaholic. She comes here for a long weekend once every seven years and she was here the year before last. The next visit isn't for a while yet."

"Where's the light switch," John asked. They might as well get something done besides worrying.

"Um, over here, I think." Ashley felt along the wall until she found the familiar shape. She flicked it on and they waited for their eyes to adjust.

Gregory looked around. "Certainly a lot of dust covers," he murmured. "Looks like your story holds up. She must have a cleaning crew in every so often, however. Do you know when they come?"

"Every other month," Ashley reported.

"We'll have to stop that," Gregory decided. "We'll need a full time staff here."

"Full time staff?" his granddaughter repeated.

"Do either of you know how to mend clothes?" Gregory asked. "Or clean, _thoroughly_? Or cook more than a simple meal." They shook their heads. "I thought not, hence the need for a full time staff. I'll start contacting people tomorrow." He gave them a critical once over. "You'll both need clothes too. We'll look to that tomorrow as well." His gaze moved around the entry way again. "Knowing your mother as well as I do, I'm sure there is a lab somewhere in here. Probably in the basement. We shall add that to the list."

"How do you intend to pay for all this?" John wondered.

"Certainly not with stolen money," Gregory stated. John bristled at the comment. "I still have resources from the old days Druitt. It'll be plenty to support all three of us." He looked to his granddaughter. "Ashley are there enough rooms for the three of us and…oh, three maybe four more?"

"There should be," she nodded.

"Good, that's taken care of." Gregory gave the whole thing one last look. "Tonight we sleep. We have a big day tomorrow."

Ashley reached out a hand to her father. "Come on, dad, I'll show you around."

"Actually, I'd like to speak to your father for a moment, Ashley," Gregory cut in.

Ashley gave her father a worried look. "It's alright," John said, matching the older man stare for stare. "I'll be up in a bit." She shrugged and headed upstairs with James right behind. "You wanted words, Gregory," he growled.

Gregory moved so there were mere inches separating them. His eyes became steel as he looked up into the fire in John's. "I was there," he said in a low tone, "in 1888 when John Druitt became Jack the Ripper. I was the one that held Helen as she cried through the night. I was the one who offered James Watson a bed when he'd drunk so much he could barely stand. I was the one that removed Ashley and froze her for a hundred years. How do I know my granddaughter isn't now neck deep in danger?"

A thousand responses flew through John's head but he didn't use any of them. There were all inflammatory in one way or another and would not help the situation. Finally, he sighed. "The acts I committed in London were atrocious," he agreed. "The things I did to Helen, even worse. I know this. But my biggest focus, my _only _focus right now, is Ashley. She is the one that needs me at this moment. I cannot abandon her again."

Gregory nodded. "Very well then, do as I ask and we'll not have any problems. But be warned. If I ever feel that you are causing Ashley more harm than good, I will take whatever steps are necessary to protect my granddaughter."

"I would expect no less," John said with a small nod.

"Then as I said, tonight we should sleep. Tomorrow has its own challenges to face."

Then men walked upstairs side by side. Ashley and James were outside the rooms. "We good?" she asked.

"We're good," John promised her.

Ashley grinned at him. "Awesome. This," she tapped on the door behind her, "is my room. That door is another bedroom. Next to it is a bathroom. Mom's room is at the very end of the hall. The master bath is connected to it. Every three doors is a bathroom. Take your pick."

John chose a room next to Ashley while Gregory picked one a few doors down. After murmured goodnights they all settled in for sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning Gregory was up before the sun to get things ready. He called several agencies that offered cleaning services but decided against them. Instead he sent out ads to various newspapers requesting help. Next, he moved around some of his money to be able to pay for Ashley and John's clothes. The two were practically living in rags.

John was downstairs before his daughter as expected. The two men spoke little to each other while waiting for Ashley. Though a tentative truce had been declared, neither really knew what to say to the other. The heavy silence was quickly dealt with when Ashley bounded down with James on her heels. "I feel like I walked into a still life," she stated.

"Brat," John countered. "Did you mother never teach you manners?"

"Nope," she grinned. "Or if she did, I totally blocked it out."

"That doesn't surprise me," John sighed.

"Please tell me we are going for a decent breakfast first," Ashley begged her grandfather.

"Haven't you been fed?" Gregory asked.

Ashley shrugged. "You eat cheap when you're on the run."

"Well, that should end now," he declared.

"Agreed," John nodded. "Ashley can you provide transport?"

Ashley bit her lip. "Can you do it?"

"Certainly. Gregory, where did you have in mind?"

Gregory gave him the name of a street with several upscale places to eat so Ashley could have a choice in the matter. Then it was off to shops for new clothing. By lunch time, John knew Ashley had wrapped her grandfather around her little finger. In fact Gregory was even more inclined to give the girl what she wanted than John was. The perks of being a grandparent, he supposed. Gregory could hand Ashley the world while John had to learn the occasions when the world was not allowed. A prickly path, to be sure, but they were both getting used to it.

Their entire day was spent shopping for various necessities. By the time they made it back to the villa their arms were so heavily laden with purchases that it was a wonder they could walk. The men left Ashley to sort everything out while they went to find Helen's lab and see if it would work for their cure. That was the next step in their plan. The sooner Ashley was fully cured, the sooner she could go home. Both Gregory and John agreed that this was the end goal, even if Ashley herself was still very nervous about that.

When Ashley bounded down to remind them that lunch was soon, they were debating the various techniques and compounds James Watson had written about and if they were still viable in this century. It seemed that some of his recommendations might be out of date. It was slightly surprising that there were no raised voices in this discussion. "Find anything new?" she asked.

"This lab should hold everything we need to work out a cure for your anger," Gregory told her. "We just need to discuss what the best option is and how to proceed on."

"What about the rest of it?"

John smiled at his daughter. "Your drug treatments will come on schedule, I promise you. This new equipment will make things much easier."

"Mom always provides, even when she doesn't know she's doing it," Ashley quipped. "What's our plan now?"

"For now," Gregory said, "we'll focus on getting this household up and running. In quick succession should be your drug treatments. Then we'll go from there."

"Then let's work on lunch for now. I'm starving."

John kissed her hair as he made his way up the steps. "You're always starving," he retorted.

"Don't pretend like you don't love me," Ashley called to him. John's laugh echoed back to them. Ashley turned to her grandfather. "Coming up?"

"I'll be right behind you," he promised.

Ashley shrugged and teleported upstairs to where her father was playing with James. They had some fun with the dog until Gregory joined them for food. John took them back out to the city. The rest of the day was spent gathering things that would be needed for day to day living in their new home.

The next two weeks were divided between getting the house ready for human habitation and interviewing household staff. Gregory eventually decided on a maid especially for Ashley, a butler for himself and John, a cook and two cleaners that would come every other day. John and Gregory also spent lots of time sequestered in the basement working on the cure James had written about as well as what Ashley would need to reverse the effects of her time with the Cabal.

It was a full month before they seemed to have cracked the code. Her dad told her that there were several sorts of treatments she would need. Four rounds a day, two pills and two injections. Ashley soon found herself swinging her legs as she sat on the lab table while her dad filled a needle. Gregory was standing by in case anything went wrong. "So how many of these do I take in the morning?" Ashley asked.

"Three in the morning, two in the afternoon," replied John.

"And then the pills just before bed and lunch."

"Exactly," John agreed.

"And these will bring me back to normal?"

"In a manner of speaking."

Ashley cocked an eyebrow. "Care to explain that statement?"

"These will remove your inhuman healing ability, vampirism characteristics, increased speed and invulnerability to electricity."

"What about teleporting?"

John turned to her with a sober look. "Teleporting is in your genes, Ashley. You were born to it. Now that the Cabal have unlocked it, you will always have that talent."

Ashley was quiet for a moment. "There are worse gifts to have," she decided. She looked him with mild interest. "So are you going to stick me or what?"

John swabbed her arm and touched the tip of the needle to her skin. "I wish there was a way to test this first," he murmured. "I'd like to know this works before trying it on you."

Ashley put her hand over his. "There is no one else," she reminded him, "just me."

John gave her a grim smile and plunged the needle in. He bit his lip at her pained hiss. "Are you alright?"

"Just a prick. I'll be fine." Ashley sat a little straighter. "Two more, right?"

"Right," John agreed. "Let me get them."

Ashley sat quietly through the rest of the injections and stared at her arm as her father set a bandage on it. "I feel…normal," she said.

"Let us hope that's how you continue to feel," Gregory told her.

"Your grandfather is right," John agreed. "We'll be very lucky if these medicines have no side effects."

"And if they do?"

"Then we'll readjust the dosage."

"And if that doesn't work?"

John gave her a resolute look. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he said firmly. "But I sincerely doubt that will happen. We've followed the instructions I was given to the letter. You'll be fine, Ashley don't worry."

Ashley just hopped off the table and said nothing. She needed to write a few things down in her journal. Emily, her maid, usually left it in her nightstand drawer when she was done cleaning. Ashley really liked the girl. Once writing was done, she would find the new cook, Mrs. Craddock, and ask her when lunch was. Food usually made her feel better now that they weren't eating bad takeout.

As she headed upstairs, she could hear her dad and her grandfather discussing the cure from James Watson's journals. That was the next step in their plan. Get John and Ashley better so Ashley could go back to her mother. Of course there was no guarantee that this medicine would actually stop the uncontrollable rage that could grip either of them at almost any moment. Most likely it would be like insulin to a diabetic. It could keep them in check if they took it on a regular basis but they would never stop needing it. Both were perfectly fine with that.

At least they were until the time came to test the serum that Gregory had devised. This time it was John who sat on the lab table, waiting for his injection. "I'm starting to understand how you felt when you were giving me my injections," Ashley told him.

John smiled at her. "It's just a needle. Nothing to be worried about."

"Oh, yeah, perfectly fine. Except the part where you could become an enraged killer if we made this wrong. How could I have been worried at all?"

"It'll be fine," he insisted.

"I just wish we didn't have to use you as a guinea pig."

John looked her straight in the eye. "There is no one else," he reminded her.

"Believe me, I know."

"If the two of you are done," Gregory called. "The serum is ready."

"And so am I," John nodded.

Gregory pulled out the needle and wiped off John's arm. Just as he was about to push the needle in, Ashley stopped him. "I'll do it," she said quietly.

"Are you sure?" John asked.

"Positive."

Gregory looked between the two of them. "She may be sure but I'm not," he told them. "Ashley, why do you want to do this?"

Ashley gave him a steady look. "Because I have to."

John spoke up before Gregory had a chance to answer that. "Let her do it," he said quietly. "She's right. It needs to be done."

Gregory looked between them and realized any argument he could think up would be useless. They had committed themselves to this course of action. He handed the needle to Ashley and moved back. Father and daughter locked eyes for a long moment as Ashley pressed the plunger down to release the medicine that might save them both. "How do you feel?" she asked as she pressed a small bandage to the site.

"I feel…normal."

"Good," Ashley said with a shaky nod. "Let's get out of this creepy basement for a while."

"I second that," Gregory agreed. "We've spent too much time down here as it is."

Ashley found that she was beginning to feel more normal as time passed by. She started going without her usual heavy layers of disguises to hide her form. After all, who was going to come after a dead girl?

Which is why she had no problem going to pick up food in nothing but jeans, a shirt and her jacket. It was a breezy night; all those layers would have made her uncomfortably hot. So she bounced down the street humming a mindless tune to herself. She ducked into a sub shop and asked for her order with a cheerful smile. "It's under Ashley Magnus," she told them. The woman behind the counter handed over her food with a shy smile. Ashley paid and headed back outside, oblivious the people following her.

"Excuse me," a voice called as she passed an alley. "Miss, can you help me?"

Ashley turned to the sound. "You mean me?"

"Yes miss. Can you come here a moment."

"Sure. I guess." Ashley peered into the dimness as she moved forward. "What do you need help with?'

"Is your name _really_Ashley Magnus."

"The one and only."

A woman about her age stepped forward, her face in an ugly snarl. "I lost my husband because of you," she whispered.

Ashley realized the prickling she had felt earlier should have clued her into the danger. What kind of idiotic horror movie scream queen was she that she was walking into alleys without back up? She'd kick herself if she didn't have bigger worries at the moment. "Look I don't know what you're talking about."

"It must be so easy for you to forget the people you hurt. You're just like your father you know. A soulless murderer."

"I'm no murderer," Ashley shot back. "And my father is one of the most wonderful people on the planet."

"Liar," the woman hissed. "And you'll pay for your lies in hell."

Ashley turned to run but found her path blocked by two very large men. "Oh, this is not good," she whispered. She could have teleported out but her dad always said it was best to be calm when teleporting. If you weren't you were twice as likely to screw up. Calm was the furthest thing from her mind right now. "Can't run, can't teleport. God I'm screwed."

She tried to fight back as the five of them –two more had come out of the shadows – came at her but her moves were slow and clumsy. Fighting didn't come as easily as it used to for her. Whether it was because she was far more used to using teleporting as she fought or because she was just too scared to strike back, it didn't matter. They were going to take her down.

As Ashley fell to the ground she a familiar voice rolled over her. "That's my daughter you're hurting. You should treat a lady with more courtesy." A smile crept over her face. Her dad would make sure everything turned out alright.


	18. Chapter 18

Ashley woke up in her bed at the villa. The LED display on her clock read 11:42. She sat up and realized someone had switched out her leathers for a camisole and sleep pants. Her father must have taken care of everything as usual. But he wasn't sitting up with her like he usually did, which was odd. James wasn't in her room either. Ashley found her slippers and crept out to find the males of the household.

She heard the voices before she saw the light of the doorway. Her father and grandfather were arguing over something but she couldn't' tell what until she got closer. "It is her _name!_" her dad insisted. "It's unfair to ask such a thing of her."

"For god's sakes, John, she was attacked," her grandfather countered. "You won't always be there to protect her, you know."

"It was a minor setback," John said. "She'll fight for herself soon enough. Besides, they were merely some thugs."

"Thugs who could have killed her," Gregory argued. "Do you really want to risk her life over something so trivial?"

"It's not trivial to Ashley," John objected. He let out a frustrated sigh. "She has given up so much of her past already, how can you take this away from her too?"

Before her grandfather could voice his argument Ashley stepped in the room. "You know… if you're arguing about me, shouldn't I be present for it?"

Both men turned at the sound of her voice. "Ashley," her father greeted. He made his way to her side and enveloped her in a hug. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright," she smiled, hugging him back. "Everything's healing up pretty well." She looked from one man to the other. "What were you arguing about?"

John kept an arm around her while he glared at her grandfather. "Your grandfather and I were discussing your attack," he began. "We believe you were taken down by people displaced by the Sanctuary attacks you committed while under the influence of the Cabal." His glare deepened. "Your grandfather believes you should change your name to avoid future conflict," he growled.

"Your father disagrees," Gregory added, "Strenuously."

"You are making a mountain out of a mole hill," John said with a roll of his eyes. "Nothing is going to happen."

"And if something does?" Gregory demanded. "Do you want that on your soul?"

"Now stop that," John chided. "You're scaring her. And for no good reason, I might add."

"You say that now but anything can happen."

"Including her being perfectly safe. Besides, what other name would suit her?"

"I don't know," Gregory snapped in an exasperated tone. "But unless you plan to lock her in her room for the rest of her time here, then we need to find something."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Can I put in my two cents?" she asked.

"Of course," her grandfather nodded.

Ashley moved away from her father. "First off, I want to say that I am _so_proud to be a Magnus." Gregory gave her a pleased smile. "But the facts are that people don't like me right now."

"Small minded idiots," her father growled.

Ashley turned to him. "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups," she quipped. Both men chuckled at her statement. "Ashley Magnus is a name that I have always been proud of. But it's just a name. Changing it doesn't change who I am. To quote Shakespeare, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, right?"

"And you are blossoming in to quite the fine rose," Gregory praised. Ashley smiled at him.

"If that is how you feel, what would you like to be called outside of the house?" John asked.

"No one has to know what the name stands for, right?" she asked.

"No one outside this room," her grandfather agreed.

"Well, since I don't want to lose my Magnus heritage, can my first name be Maggie?"

"I don't see why not," Gregory nodded. He turned to her father. "John, any objections?"

"Not from me," he said. "But you need a new last name as well."

"I'll use the one I always should have had," she shrugged. Both men gave her curious looks. "Druitt," she grinned.

Her dad grinned back at her. "You'll hear no objections from me. Gregory?"

"Maggie Druitt," he murmured, trying it out. "It doesn't suit you like Ashley Magnus does but I'll agree to it."

Ashley hugged them both and yawned. "I think it's time for someone to be heading to bed," John pointed out.

"I am pretty tired," she agreed. "Walk me up?"

"Of course," he nodded. "I was just heading that way myself. Goodnight, Gregory."

"Goodnight, John. Goodnight, Ashley."

John whistled and James trotted over to them from where he had been curled up. "Come on boy, let's hit the hay," Ashley said. The dog barked twice and followed his mistress up to her room to guard her through the night.

Apparently her father and grandfather had decided to let her sleep in because when Ashley awoke the clock was creeping towards eleven. She smiled as she saw James lying next to her. "I hope you got walked today," she sighed. Ashley noticed a piece of paper under his collar. It was a note from her father confirming that James had indeed been walked. Her dad must have administered her med while she was asleep. Ashley was okay with that. She could trust her dad after all. There was a knock on the door which James yipped at. "Hush," she said. "Come in."

Emily pushed the door open. "Good morning, Miss Ashley."

Ashley smiled. She had tried to rid the other girl of calling her 'miss' but it never took. "Morning," she greeted instead. "That breakfast?"

"Breakfast and a few other things," the maid agreed. She set a silver tray on the bedside table. "Let me know if you need anything."

Ashley nodded and shifted into a sitting position. Her breakfast was in a covered tray as always when she slept in. Next to it was a vase holding a single pink rose. On top of the cover of her breakfast tray, there was a large thin envelope. "Wonder what this is, boy," she murmured. It was very light, almost no weight to it. She opened it up and reached in to find a slip of paper.

It turned out to be another note. _A __gift __to __our __beautiful, __mature __rose, _it read. _We__'__re __both __so __very __proud __of __you. __Your __father, __M. __John __Druitt __and __grandfather, __Gregory __Magnus, __MD._

Ashley smiled at it. Then she dug out her journal and put it in the back with all her important papers. She reached back into the envelope to find a birth certificate for Maggie Rose Druitt. James whimpered and pressed his nose to her arm. "I know, I know, I'm getting to the food," she told him. James perked up as she pulled the tray over so they could share breakfast.

Her dad and grandfather were reading the newspaper in the study when she came down. "Anything worth knowing?" she called.

Both smiled at her before going back to their papers. "There never is," her grandfather said, as she came to kiss his cheek. "War, disease, and famine. The headlines get more depressing by the hour."

"And we thought yellow journalism was bad in our day," John agreed. Ashley kissed his cheek as well and perched on the arm of his chair. "Are you up for an outing?" he asked.

"That would depend on the outing," she hedged.

"I've finally found a work force to start rebuilding the Italian Sanctuary," Gregory told her. "I thought we should all go meet the head."

"Can James come?"

"I'd need a crowbar to separate you two," Gregory laughed. "Of course he may come. We'll head out after lunch."

"Works for me."

"Very good. And after our visit, I have another surprise for you."

"Another one? Careful, a girl could get spoiled."

Gregory smiled at her. "Do you want me to send it back?" he teased.

"I did not say that," Ashley replied with smile.

"Smart girl," her dad murmured. "Run along now, we'll find you when you're needed." Ashley nodded and headed out while the men went back to their papers.

At two o'clock sharp, John teleported them all to an out of the way street where a car was waiting for them. "Not into teleporting?" Ashley asked. She whistled to James who jumped in and settled on the floor.

"I thought we should arrive in a more traditional manner," Gregory said. "This will cause less talk amongst the workers."

"Heaven forbid we cause talk," Ashley teased, mimicking her grandfather's accent.

They settled themselves inside and were driven to the Italian Sanctuary. Ashley shifted as the wreck came into view. John rested a hand on her shoulder in support. There was a man there waiting for them. Gregory got out first, followed by John who helped Ashley. She whistled and James came to stand beside her. "Good afternoon," the man called. "I'm Horace Fabrizziti, the foreman."

"Gregory, just Gregory if you please," he said, shaking the foreman's hand. "This is my son-in-law John, and his daughter Maggie Druitt."

Horace shook hands with all of them. He stared intently at John. "Heard tell of a John Druitt once. They said he was quite the killer. Murdered a lot of women."

John gave him a disarming smile. "Do I look like a serial killer to you?" he asked. "And John is my middle name."

"Sorry if I gave offense. You don't look like you could hurt a fly."

"He couldn't either," Ashley said. "My dad is lover not a fighter."

Horace nodded like this didn't surprise him. "What is your first name then, if I can ask?"

"Montague," he admitted, making a slight face. Horace mirrored his expression. "You see why I go by John."

"I do. If you'll follow me, we can get started."

"Son-in-law?" John murmured as they followed the foreman.

"You're as good as," Gregory shrugged. "What with all you and Helen have done. Besides, have you a better story?"

"I do not."

"Then let it be."

Ashley tried to pay attention as the males spoke to one another but she grew bored quickly. John noticed her waning attention and gave her a sympathetic smile. "I saw a girl about your age over there," he whispered with a jerk of his head. "Why don't you talk to her? I'm sure it's much more interesting than all this."

Ashley looked relieved. "You are the best," she whispered back. She gave him a quick hug before jogging off. The girl her father had been talking about was idling near the edge of the construction site. "Mi scusi," she called. "Uh…mi chiamo Maggie. Ciò che è tuo?"

The girl turned to her with a smile. "I'm Orazia and I speak English," she replied.

Ashley laughed in relief. "Thank god. My Italian is terrible."

"It's actually not that bad. Mostly it's your accent. You can call me Zia by the way. All my friends do."

"That's what you get from living in America," Ashley shrugged.

Orazia looked interested. "I take that's where you're from?"

"Yeah, I used to live there with my mom."

"Was she a Muslim too?"

Ashley was confused until Zia gestured to the head scarf she was wearing to cover her signature hair. She opened her mouth to deny it but realized it was the most plausible excuse to use. Surely if there was a God above he'd forgive her for trying to stay out of trouble. "Yes," she agreed. "She was Muslim."

"I take it one of those men is your father?"

Ashley nodded. "The taller, bald one."

Zia giggled. "Ah, the handsome one."

Ashley glanced at her dad then back at the girl. "I guess so," she shrugged. "Is your dad on the construction team?"

"He's the foreman. Who is the other man?"

"My grandfather. He's the one that bought the property."

"What does he want an old ruin like this for?"

"I gave up trying to figure him out years ago."

"Probably a good idea." Zia hesitated before asking her next question. "Your mother…did she die?" Now it was Ashley's turn to hesitate. "You don't have to tell me," Zia added hastily. "I was just wondering why you were here with only your father."

"It's…complicated," Ashley settled on. "Why don't you tell me about your family?"

Gregory nodded as he and Horace finished with their talk. "And you can promise me that this will be kept secret?" he asked.

"I've worked with these men for years," Horace told him. "They can keep things to themselves. But I do wonder why a man buys a property like this and then wants to keep construction under wraps."

"I have my reasons," Gregory replied. "And all you need to know is that they are not illegal. The rest of it you can leave to me."

"If that's what you want," Horace agreed. "We'll get started right away."

"Good, we'll leave you to it." Gregory turned to John. "Where did Ashley run off to?"

"She was bored with all the technical talk. I let her go talk to the other young girl here. It's good for her to make friends."

"True, true. But we need to head back now."

"I'll fetch her," John nodded. He smiled at the girls as he approached. "Sorry to interrupt, ladies, but…Maggie needs to be getting home. As do the rest of us."

"Sorry, dad, didn't realize talks were done," Ashley said sheepishly. "I guess I'll be seeing you Zia. It was nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Zia smiled. "I hope we can talk again."

Ashley followed her father to where her grandfather was waiting in the car. "Make a new friend?" Gregory asked.

"As a matter of fact, I did," Ashley replied as she and James got in. "Her name is Orazia and she is the daughter of the boss."

"I'll assume she speaks English since you two were so animated and your Italian is not that clear," her grandfather said.

Ashley rolled her eyes. "I've been invisible for most of my time here. There was no need to learn the language. Besides, I'm going home soon."

"She's got you there, Gregory," John agreed.

"I suppose," he agreed with a smile. They came to the site where they first met the car. "John, if you'll take us home, I owe Ashley her surprise."

"What is my surprise?" Ashley wondered when they were back at the villa.

"Come around the house with me and you'll see," Gregory smiled.

Ashley followed him to the unused stables that sat not far behind the main house. Ashley could dimly remember her mother riding but she didn't think the building had been in use in a very long time. Under her grandfather's instruction she stopped and closed her eyes. "You know what it is?" she asked her dad while her grandfather went to get something.

"And if I did?" he replied.

"I would hope you would tell me."

"That would spoil the surprise, little angel."

"I hate you."

"You're not the first."

Ashley was about to respond when she heard a soft snort. She frowned. "Can I open my eyes now?" she called.

"Yes you may," Gregory said.

Ashley opened her eyes to find herself face to face with a dappled gray mare. "Holy. Crap."

"Ashley, I believe your grandfather would like to know if you like your present," John prompted.

"Like it?" Ashley began to move around the horse, staring at her in wonder. "I love it. She's beautiful, aren't you girl?" Ashley gently reached out a hand to stroke the horse's nose. "Does she have a name? Is it a she?"

"It is a she," Gregory nodded. "And her name is Dapple. Your father and I discussed it and you need to be doing something other than sitting around the house. Dapple here will give you some exercise and fresh air."

John frowned as a thought came into his head. "Ashley, have you ever ridden a horse before?"

Ashley smiled sheepishly. "Uh…no, actually."

"Then I suppose you'll have to teach her, John," Gregory sighed.

"Me?" John demanded.

"Well you certainly don't expect me to go putting myself out trying to exercise a horse do you? At my age, it's unthinkable." John's mouth pressed into a thin line. "Besides," Gregory added with a hint of mischief, "You spend too much time inside as well. Riding will do you good too."

Ashley could see the beginnings of an argument brewing and quickly jumped in to give her father a pleading look. "You will teach me, won't you daddy? Please, I really want to learn to ride."

"I'd need a horse, sweet girl," he hedged.

"Good thing I bought two of them then," Gregory smiled. "Your stallion is in the stables."

John had been played and there was nothing he could do about it. "Alright Ashley, I'll teach you how to ride."

Ashley let out a squeal and ran to hug him. "Can we start right now?" she begged.

"Let me get saddled up," John sighed.

Gregory touched his granddaughter's shoulder as John headed to the stables. "There is one other thing," he told her.

"What's that?" Gregory pulled out a silver jewelry box and handed it to her. Ashley opened it to find a silver locket on a delicate chain. Inside the locket were two old fashioned pictures, her mother on the left and her father on the right. "Grandpa, it's beautiful," she whispered.

Gregory helped her put it on. "There's a practical side to it to," he replied.

"What's that?"

"Ashley, you're going to go home. And while I'm very happy for you, there's no denying that your parents have not gotten along well in many years. I'm sad to say I don't see that changing just because you are back. I am quite sure they will still bicker and argue as they have for years because it is easier that way. And I want you to remember, no matter how bad it gets, how loud the arguments are, that you have a mother and a father who love you very much. More than they love each other."

"I don't know if they actually love each other anymore," Ashley sighed.

"Oh of course they do. Why do you think they have such arguments all the time?"

"Because they hate each other?"

Gregory chuckled. "Trust me, Ashley. If hate were the problem, one or both of them would be dead by now. No, its love, I'm quite sure. Just as I'm sure that they adore you and want only what's best for you. Now, can you remember that for me?"

Ashley hugged him tight. "I promise, granddad. I'll remember every word."

"Good girl. Off with you now. You asked your father for a lesson, the least you can do is be ready when he comes out."

"Got it. See you when we're done."

Gregory chuckled as she led her horse back to where her father and a pair of stable boys waited. "I have a feeling that will be sooner rather than later."

* * *

**A/N: **In case anyone is wondering about how they can build in secret, in my world you don't just call up Helen Magnus on the phone. You'd ahve to go through all sorts of channels that lead to your head of househould who then has to get to Helen when she's not saving the world and try to make a case for this. I doubt that would happen.


	19. Chapter 19

Ashley woke bright and early on her birthday. "Morning miss," Emily greeted as she came in.

"Morning, Emily. Are the males awake?"

"Your father is waiting for you downstairs. I haven't seen your grandfather yet."

Ashley frowned. "That's odd. Eh, I'm sure dad can explain it." She hurried through her morning routine in order to get downstairs faster. "Morning, daddy," she greeted brightly.

John kissed her cheek. "Morning. Hurry up and eat breakfast. I've got a surprise for you, sweet girl."

"A surprise? Between you and granddad I am never going be able to go back to my old life."

"I highly doubt that," John said with a smile. "Now hurry. We don't have all day. We're going on a trip."

Ashley ate her breakfast quickly. "How cold will this trip be?" she asked when she finished.

"Slightly chilly, at the least."

She shrugged and jogged up to grab her black knit coat. If they were going back into public she would need to hide her hair again. Digging into her closet, she found the floppy hat that went with her coat. Emily helped her pile her hair on her head and pin it down so she could pull her hat over it. "I'm ready," she declared.

John have her a critical once over. "Perfect," he declared. He pulled on his shorter coat. "You're going to provide today's transport."

"Oh joy," she sighed. "Where are we going?" Her dad began to describe an alley to her. Ashley closed her eyes so she could really picture it in her mind. When he was done, she reached for his arm.

"Open your eyes," he said quietly.

Ashley did as asked. She looked at the ally and saw that it was just as she imagined. "Where are we?"

John led her out to the street. "Provided that you have brought us where I asked," he paused to study their surroundings, "and I believe you have, then we're about three blocks from Oxford."

"Oxford?" Ashley repeated. "As in the same Oxford where you met mom, where The Five got started, where everything went down… _that_Oxford?"

"Exactly," John smiled. "Your grandfather can't join at the moment but he will be coming later for your next surprise." Ashley looked around in wonder. "I thought we'd spend the day showing you some your history." He rested a hand on her shoulder. "Happy birthday, Ashley."

Ashley whipped around to give him a tight hug. "You are the greatest," she told him.

"You are very welcome. Now, come along. Let's tour the city, shall we?" He hailed a taxi and they settled inside. "Oxford, please," he told the driver.

"Takin' the young lady back to school?" the driver asked.

"Actually just showing her the history before she's shipped back to the States," John explained. "Make sure she knows what a _real_college is like."

"Never did understand those schools in the states," the man agreed. "They have a strange idea of education." The two chatted amiably while Ashley watched the world outside go by. Her mother had taken her to England before but just like Rome, there was never time to really see it.

Once they were at Oxford, her dad paid the man while Ashley tried to take in everything at once. "It's so big," she breathed.

"It's grown some since your mother and I were here," John agreed. "Shall we tour the grounds? I can see the bench where I was sitting when I first saw your mother from here."

It was the best tour anyone could ask for. Her father led her everywhere, pointing out spots that he remembered and sharing stories. He would show her where he and her mother would meet to talk, where James would always beat him at chess, where The Five first got together, even where he and Nikola had first quarreled over Helen. Ashley absorbed each story and held it close. It was all a part of her history, of what had led to her life unfolding like it had. At one point she asked a student to take a picture of her and her dad. It was a little risky but was more than worth it. She didn't have any with him after all.

After strolling through Oxford, her father took her to Hyde Park. They sat together on the grass enjoying the sunshine. "This is incredible," Ashley giggled.

"I used to take your mother here for picnics," John smiled. He realized the memories were taking over when he felt Ashley tug on his jacket. "Problems?"

"Ten o'clock," she murmured. "Guy looks a little too interested."

John made carful, casual movements to look in the direction his daughter spoke of. She was right; the man _was_too interested in what should have looked like another pair of tourists. "Do you think he's from the Cabal?"

"I thought you guys destroyed them."

"There are always remnants when dealing with an organization of that size."

"It's a possibility. He could also be one of mom's. Doesn't look like he's about to attack."

"I'm not willing to risk your life without information," he stated. He shifted so his body was blocking Ashley from the man's view. "We should leave now."

"We're in a public park in broad daylight. Only an idiot would attack here."

"Only an idiot would allow himself to be so obvious. I don't want you in danger."

"Like it or not, danger is my life. And that's just going to increase when I go home." She watched his resolve waver just a bit. "Come on, we can keep watch if we need to. I'm not ready to leave just yet."

"If his demeanor changes in _any _way we leave," John said firmly. Ashley nodded swiftly. "Then we'll stay. I really do spoil you, little angel."

"It's not spoiling me if it's for my own good," Ashley countered with a smile.

"This is not for your own good," John sighed.

"It's my history. Of course it's for my own good." John just shook his head. "So you used to take mom here?" she prompted.

"All the time. It was one of the few places we could be seen together and no one would question it. Though sometimes the others would accompany us as well." He looked down at her. "Surely your mother told you _something_about all this even if she did not mention my name."

Ashley shook her head. "Mom likes to live in the present," she explained. "She doesn't talk much about the past. If you listened to her, you'd think her life started when I was born."

"Maybe it did," John murmured.

Ashley was silent for a moment. She didn't want to think about that. "Tell me about it," she said suddenly.

"Excuse me?"

"About you and mom. Tell me about it."

"Are you sure you want that story?"

"Sparing the gross and horny details, yeah. And I want to know everything. Right up to when she knew you were Jack."

John nodded. "I suppose it's the least I can do," he agreed. Ashley looked hopeful and he just couldn't say no when she gave him that look. So he told her all about it. He told her of a brilliant woman and a shy man. Of naïve love and dreams and what might have been. The only details he spared her were those of the nights, both when they were together and apart. He told her both of Oxford and Whitechapel because all of it in some form had led to her and her life.

Ashley stared at him when he finally finished. "Incredible," she breathed.

"That's one way to put it," John agreed.

"We should move along," Ashley decided. "There's a lot more of England to see yet."

"Agreed. Stay close so no one can see you." The two got up slowly with Ashley moving so her body was still blocked. She kept close as they walked to the cab. Her father gave the driver an address and helped her in. "I'll meet you at the restaurant."

"Be careful," she insisted.

"I always am. Love you, sweet girl."

"Love you more, daddy."

"Love you most." John nodded to the driver and waved as she was carried away.

Ashley reached into her pocket and pulled out large sunglasses that hid most of her face. "Please let him be alright," she murmured.

John waited until he could hear footsteps behind him. Clearly he _was_being followed. He hailed another cab and gave the address of an old neighborhood he remembered. He wove in and out of crowds, always a few steps ahead of his pursuer. Finally, he found what he was looking for.

Michael Thompson couldn't believe his luck. He was sent out by Declan to look for an Abnormal that had been spotted by Hyde Park. It was an easy mission, just look for tracks and get pictures. As he'd been doing his job, he noticed John Druitt. The man everyone was looking for. If he could just manage to catch Druitt, every mistake he'd ever made would be over looked. There might even be a promotion in it for him. It was easy enough to track him to an alleyway and he felt his spirits soar. Right until he found the note on the wall. _Only __fools __show __their __plan __so __early, __MJD. _Mike glumly pocketed the note and headed back to the Sanctuary to update Declan.

While Michael was in disgrace, John was busy surprising his daughter at the front of the restaurant. "Dad," Ashley laughed. "Don't do that. What happened to the guy?"

"He was dealt with," John said simply.

"Do I want to know?"

"He's still alive if that's what's worrying you." John led her inside and they were shown a table.

Ashley looked over the menu. "I don't understand a word of this," she stated. "I think you need to translate."

"Are you serious?" John asked with amusement.

"Dead serious. I mean look at this, 'bangers and mash'? What is that?"

John pulled her chair over. "Let's take this one item at a time," he sighed.

While father and daughter bonded over the menu in England, Magnus was with Will and Tesla at the Observation level talking with Declan. "You're saying you saw John this very morning?" she asked.

"Not me," Declan corrected. "An assistant."

"What was this assistant doing?" Nikola asked.

"I sent him out to study what was possibly a new Abnormal. He was in Hyde Park."

"Wait, you're saying Druitt was out in a public park in the middle of the day?" Will asked. He looked to Magnus. "I know he hasn't always been in his right mind but was he ever so reckless before?"

"Quite the contrary," she said. "John may have been mad but he was always careful. It's why I didn't realize he was still around."

"Maybe he's finally lost his mind completely," Tesla sneered.

"I'm sending you the pictures," Declan said to stop the argument. "You can decide for yourselves. This first set is from Hyde Park." Pictures spread out across the screen. Most of them were simply of John sitting in the park.

"These look…normal," Will murmured as he studied the pictures. "Just a man enjoying the day in a public park."

"Certainly doesn't look like a man on the run," Magnus agreed.

Nikola's sharp eyes had picked out something in one of the pictures. "That one," he pointed. "Make it bigger."

Magnus did as he asked. Then it became apparent to her and Will too. "There's someone with him."

"Yeah but all we get is an eye, part of the nose and a bit of cheek," Will sighed. "We can't even tell gender, let alone identity."

"Clearly it's someone important to him," Nikola said. "Watch how he moves in the next few pictures."

"He's blocking the person from the camera," Helen agreed. "I'll have to get Henry to see if he can do anything to figure out the person's identity. Declan, let us see the rest of the pictures."

A new set of pictures came through. "Mike decided to follow Druitt, hoping to capture him."

"Because if _we_can't do it, obviously he can," Nikola snorted. "Where do you find these geniuses?"

"Trust me, Dr. Tesla, I intend to make that _very_clear to him," Declan said.

Magnus was studying the pictures. "He continues blocking the other person from the camera," she noticed. "It must be them in the other cab."

"Mike tracked the cab to an alleyway. When he got there Druitt was gone. This note was on the wall."

All three read over the note. "That is John's handwriting," Tesla remarked.

"And his sentiments," Magnus agreed. "Very well, thank you Declan. Keep your eyes out in case he surfaces again."

Back in England, John and Ashley had just finished their meal. "Amazing what you can do when you learn the language," he teased.

"That was a great meal," she agreed. "Now where's the loo?"

"So you do know of the Queen's English."

"I learned it from mom."

John smiled and gave her directions. While she was in there John paid their bill and called Gregory. He made sure their other plans were still on after explaining what had happened earlier. Gregory believed that it was random and while they should be wary, it shouldn't spoil Ashley's day. John stood as Ashley returned and offered his arm. "Ready to go?" he asked.

"That depends."

"On?"

"Can I ask a favor?"

"It's your birthday," John told her. "You may have anything you want."

"Within reason," Ashley added. "I have somewhere I want to go."

"Anywhere you choose."

Ashley's voice was barely a whisper as she spoke one word. "Whitechapel."

John sucked in a breath. "Are you certain?" he asked.

"Absolutely."

He gave a slow nod. "Then we'll go to Whitechapel."

Ashley took her father's hand as they teleported to the darkened alleys of the seedy Whitechapel district. It seemed cooler here, the dark spaces more numerous and the very atmosphere resentful. But that could just have been her imagination. "Tell me," she murmured.

"Tell you what?" John asked. Without realizing it the two had begun to walk aimlessly down the street.

"Don't do that. You promised me no more secrets."

In a slow, halting voice, John told his daughter _exactly_what happened. Each and every murder he committed during those years. Which included quite a few both Helen and history in general were unaware of. And as they paused in an alley where he had done much of his killing, John felt true sorrow for the acts he'd committed. Before now it was mostly regret and sorrow for what _he _lost. He'd never thought about the women or their families. Ashley slipped her arms around him as he spoke.

There, in his daughter's arms, for the first time ever, John Druitt shed real tears for both the victims and himself.

John managed to pull himself together fairly quickly as he realized his daughter was reaching for something. "Ashley?" he asked. He realized she held his switch blade in her hands.

"I'm sick of this," she said. "Sick of feeling this way. The guilt, the pain. I'm done with it." Ashley cut a long line into her palm just deep enough to scar. For a single moment, John had the heart stopping fear that Ashley was going to kill herself. Then she took his hand and cut into it as well. "So you and me, we're going to stop it now. Promise me."

"What do you want from me?"

Ashley pressed their bleeding hands together. "That this is the last time we _ever_get blood on our hands. No more innocents, for either of us."

"You have my word," John agreed quietly. They stayed like that for a moment before John pulled Ashley into his arms once more. "You really are quite remarkable for your age."

"I do have good ideas some times," she agreed.

John pulled his hand from hers and gently took his knife back. "Touching as this was, we have a schedule to keep."

"So where are we going?"

"A hotel where your grandfather will meet us with more of your birthday surprises. And hopefully a place where we can clean up."

Ashley looked down at her hand. "I so need to think more than one step ahead," she sighed.

"We'll get to those lessons," John promised. "Come now."

Ashley let out a low whistle as they reappeared in what was clearly a very expensive hotel. "Granddad went all out," she noted.

"It's not every day his granddaughter turns 25," John pointed out. "Come over to the sink so we can clean your hand then you may do as you please."

John washed both their hands and bandaged them before allowing Ashley to watch TV. He went to the bedroom to lie down after the tumultuous day they'd had together. It was much later when he was awoken by Gregory's quiet knocking. "Morning," the other man greeted.

"Near evening," John corrected. "Where's Ashley?"

"Still in front of the telly watching some show. She told me about today."

"And you're here to…what exactly? Yell at me?"

"To check your hand for starters. Then tell you that it is nearly time for the rest of Ashley's celebration so you'd best get up."

John grunted in reply and moved to a sitting position. Gregory changed out the bandages and complimented John on the good job he did. Then the two males went to fetch Ashley. "Dad, you're up," she said brightly over her shoulder.

"Your grandfather just woke me," John explained.

"And we need to move on to the next part of your birthday," Gregory told her. "There's a gift for you in the closet."

Ashley gave him a curious look but teleported out. She returned to the couch in a flash of light with long box in her lap. At her grandfather's nod, she carefully opened it to find a beautiful long white dress with black embroidery all over. The dress was strapless and came with black gloves and a white shawl that had the same sort of spidery embroidery on the ends. "Uh, granddad does that tag say Gucci?" she asked.

"It does," Gregory agreed as he poured himself some brandy.

"It's official, I'm spoiled."

Both men laughed. "That's not the end of your gifts," John said. "Here's the other part."

He tossed her a much smaller box that revealed theater tickets. "Doctor Faustus," she read aloud. "I love that story."

"I thought you might," Gregory agreed.

"It's not the Globe," John sighed. "But we'll do that tomorrow."

"I thought we were going home tomorrow," Ashley frowned.

Both men gave her a patient, if somewhat irritated glance. "You don't do England in one day," John told her.

"We'll be here for a week," Gregory added. "Now go and change. We don't have time to dawdle."

Ashley ducked into a separate bed room to change into the dress. She found that there was a smaller box that contained earrings, a silver necklace with a black pendant and small black roses for her hair. "I will never be able to go back to normal life after this," she decided as she pulled her hair into an elegant braided bun.

Outside, John and Gregory had already finished changing into their suits. "Have you heard any news of the Sanctuary?" John asked.

"Word has reached Helen that you were spending the day in Hyde Park; however she does not know that Ashley was there too. She's told the Head of the UK Sanctuary to have people looking for you in case you show up again."

John raised an eyebrow. "Should we be wary?"

"Not in the slightest. Remember, John, my daughter is not the only one with connections in this world." Gregory paused to straighten his cufflinks. "Those boys will be chasing their tails until long after we've come home. Ashley is my granddaughter and I am determined she have a lovely birthday as she deserves."

As though conjured by that statement, Ashley glided through the doors. "How do look?" she asked.

"A vision of pure loveliness," John complimented.

"You're looking pretty sharp yourself," she grinned.

"Ready?" Gregory asked.

"Let's get this show on the road," Ashley said.


	20. Chapter 20

Ashley tossed and turned in her bed. She simply wasn't going to sleep tonight, not without serious answers. Her clock read 1:43 am. With a sigh, she got out of bed and went to find her father.

John was reading by firelight when he heard the soft footsteps enter. He looked up to see his daughter in the doorway. "Ashley?" he called. When she didn't move, he left his book in the chair and went to her.

Ashley wrapped her arms around him and held on tight. After a moment she pulled away. "I don't want to be a monster," she said in a small voice.

John studied her face with concern. "We discussed this in Whitechapel. You are not a monster, little angel. Whatever put such an idea in your head?"

"I did bad things," she moaned. Ashley's eyes were bright with unshed tears and her lower lip began to tremble.

"You did them because the Cabal made you do them. You've learned such control since then. You are _not_a monster." He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her eyes.

"They'll hate me," Ashley whined.

"Who will hate you?"

"Everyone."

"I take it you mean those at the Sanctuary," John sighed. Ashley nodded glumly. "Ashley, I promise you, they will _not_hate you."

"I can't even use my real name out in public."

"Those are narrowed minded individuals who are not worth your time."

"I did worse things than you, dad. And mom can't even look you in the eye anymore." Ashley looked back up at him. "You were the love of her life."

John drew her to the chair and settled her into his lap. "You are her _daughter,_Ashley. Your mother will be ecstatic to see you."

"What about the others?" she whimpered.

"Are they not your friends?"

"Yes."

"Then you have nothing to fear." John rubbed her back. "Now then, sweet girl, tell me what brought all this on?"

"I had a nightmare," she whispered brokenly.

"A nightmare?" John prompted. Ashley nodded. "Tell me what happened."

"I was back in the Sanctuary. And I knew I had to hide for some reason." John felt her tremble in his arms. "I could hear mom and Will and Henry talking. They were trying to hunt me down. I could hear mom giving orders like I was some dangerous Abnormal." Ashley looked into her father's eyes. "She told them to kill me if they had to."

"Oh, Ashley," John sighed. Tears began to roll down her cheeks. He let her cry on his shoulder as he held her tight. "It'll be alright," he murmured. "Just let it out."

Gregory came limping down to see what the commotion was. "Is everything alright?"

"She had a nightmare," John said quietly.

"Poor thing. What about?"

"Going home. She's worried about the reception that's waiting for her."

Gregory moved to stroke his granddaughter's hair. "Don't worry," he soothed. "Your mother is going to be so happy to see you. She would have rewritten the rules of the universe to get you back."

"But I hurt people," Ashley said. "And I can teleport now. She'll think I'm some insane killing freak."

"You were under the control of the Cabal," Gregory replied. "Your mother thinks no less of you."

"And you have stayed here to learn how to you control your powers," John added. "She'll be so proud that you made such a grown up decision. And that you've managed so well."

Ashley looked between the two men. "Are you certain?"

"I'm more sure of this than of anything in the world," Gregory said firmly.

"Daddy?"

"I swear to you on what little honor I have left as a gentleman that your mother will be happy to see you," he promised.

"Well, I'm better for tonight but I make no promises about tomorrow. Or any other day for that matter," Ashley sighed.

"We'll be here tomorrow," John told her.

"And every day after that," Gregory agreed.

Ashley gave her father a tight hug before slipping off his lap. "Grandpa, I know it's dumb but…but would you read to me?"

"It's not dumb at all," Gregory assured her with a smile. "Is that what your mother used to do for you?"

Ashley gave him a thin smile. "Not since I entered double digits."

"Sometimes it's hard to challenge what we know," John said.

"Do you plan to head up stairs?" Gregory asked him.

"I will eventually."

"Good night, daddy," Ashley said kissing his cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too. Sleep well, little angel."

Gregory looked at his granddaughter. "Shall we walk or teleport?"

"Can we walk?"

"Most certainly."

Ashley smiled at him. She looped her arm through his and they headed to the library. There she picked out a book of fairy stories for Gregory to read to her. He settled in a chair next to her bed and read for an hour before she finally fell asleep. Gregory kissed her forehead as he headed out. John finished his book and went to look in on his daughter. "Your mother is waiting for you, little angel," he whispered. "She just doesn't know about it yet." He too kissed her forehead as he teleported out.

Ashley's predictions proved true and her fears came back for the next two days. Every time John or Gregory would be nearby to soothe her. Gregory took her out to the city, John would go riding with her and when all else failed she played with James.

Slowly, very slowly, the mantras began to take root. Ashley stopped being scared and started getting excited. There were still nerves but the excitement was higher. The males of the house became just as excited as she was. She would stay up late telling James all about the Sanctuary and what life was like there. Her father and grandfather both thought she was exaggerating but neither would impinge on her enthusiasm.

The night before her return they actually had to sedate her slightly to get her to sleep. She looked so peaceful when the maid came in that Emily almost didn't' have the heart to wake her. "Miss Ashley," she called, shaking her slightly. "It's morning."

Ashley slowly opened her eyes. "I can't believe it," she whispered. "It's finally the day."

"Today's the day you head home, isn't it?" Emily asked.

"First time in two years," Ashley grinned.

"Then you'd best be clean for your mother," she laughed. "Off to the tub with you."

Ashley's body wasn't sure whether to be excited or nervous. She wanted so badly to go home it was almost impossible to stay still. Carefully, she slipped into the warm water and willed her body to relax. Being giddy was great but she couldn't bounce around all day. As she soaked in the tub, she could hear the house coming to life around her. Her father paused to knock and remind her that she couldn't stay in there all day.

Once the water became tepid, she pulled herself out and dried her hair. She had gone through her whole wardrobe twice before settling on an outfit. Ashley didn't want anything too dark to remind her family of what she was. In the end she had gone with a pair of dark wash jeans, sneakers, and a white shirt with blue embroidery. White was the color of new life and rebirth and purity.

As she buttoned her jeans she thought about going home. She hoped her mother would be happy to see her. She hoped that they could all forgive her for the awful things she had done. She hoped they still wanted her around. Her dad and grandpa had promised her several times over that things would be great. Ashley still wasn't completely sure. "Everything will be perfect," she whispered.

In his room John was fastening the buttons on his royal blue shirt, mired in his own thoughts. Helen had not seen him for two years. As far as she knew he was a thief and a liar. He hoped that she would believe that he had done everything for their daughter. And for her. John needed her to believe that he had truly changed. But more importantly he needed her to believe in Ashley. And despite his numerous assurances to his daughter, there was still a part of him that wondered.

Gregory stood before his mirror straightening his cravat. His little girl was about to get the absolute shock of her life. She would hopefully realize that John and Ashley were more controlled than before. He wanted nothing more than to see his daughter happy as any father did. If she would just open her heart, Gregory had no doubt these two could do it for her.

Ashley did a final turn in front of the mirror before heading out. Her father was heading out at the same time. "Hey dad," she called. She looked over his choice of clothes. Blue shirt, charcoal gray slacks, black suspenders with a hint of silver threading and the large silver watch she'd had engraved for his birthday. "Looking sharp," she whistled.

John smiled at her. "You look quite lovely yourself," he complimented. He held out his arm to her. "May the gentleman be permitted to escort a lady downstairs?"

Ashley took his arm with a smile. "Always," she said.

They walked together and were met at the bottom by Gregory in his best brown suit. "Don't you two look like a picture?" he greeted.

"Not too shabby yourself," Ashley said. She kissed his cheek like she did every morning.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Nervous," she admitted. "But seriously excited too."

Breakfast was all her favorites. Pecan pancakes with real maple syrup, blueberry muffins fresh from the oven, bacon and freshly pressed apple cider. Ashley had no idea how they managed to get everything fresh in the morning. She had asked the cook once but he just smiled and told her it was a secret. Ashley thought she'd be too excited to eat but her dad and grandpa made sure she finished every bite.

After breakfast it was all about finding things to occupy her mind until it was time to leave. She found her journal and wrote down every detail of the day so far. Ashley wanted a complete record once it was all over. There was no doubt she'd be returning to this day many times in the future. Once that was done, she stood in front of the mirror to practice what she would say to her family. When she had nothing else to do she asked permission to go riding.

No matter how hard she pushed Dapple, the mare would never be like riding her bike. That was okay as long as she could feel the wind in her hair. She probably wouldn't be able to ride much when she got back home. But she'd have her bike back so it was a fair trade in her mind. Even if she would miss Dapple some. Ashley saw her father further on in the trail. He cocked his head back towards the house. That meant it was nearly time to go so she turned Dapple around and rode back.

"Are you alright?" John asked as she walked in the door.

"I'm a total mix of emotions," she admitted. On impulse she whipped around to hug him tight. "God, daddy, I don't know what to do."

John held her for a moment. "You will be fine," he assured her. "You're going home, remember?"

Ashley grinned. "That's right." She pulled back to look at him. "Is it wrong that I want to laugh and cry at the same time?"

"Not at all." John pulled her back into his arms.

They stayed like that until Gregory came to find them. "It's time," he told them. Ashley hurried over to hug him as well. "Everything will be wonderful," he promised.

"You bet it will," Ashley grinned. She linked arms with her dad and grandpa. "We're off to see the wizard, boys."

They reappeared in the middle of the walkway leading to the front door. "Welcome to the Sanctuary," John murmured.

Ashley squeezed both their hands as they walked forward.


End file.
